KISFALUDI STROBL Zsigmond
1884, Alsórajk – 1975, Budapest

Morning

1924–1926
marble

Zsigmond Kisfaludi Strobl gained recognition with his 1909 exhibition at the Budapest Művészház (Artists’ House), and his career reached its apex during the interwar period. This phase is marked by countless bronze statuettes, plaquettes and monumental works, travels and a number of acknowledgements at home and abroad.
Following World War I and the Hungarian Soviet Republic, the artist struggled hard to find his bearings. He sought refuge from his troubles in the marble female figures, of which Morning is one. Often called the “Hungarian Venus,” Kisfaludi carved a small version of the statue in 1924. When American media mogul William Randolph Hearst saw a reproduction that appeared in the English-language magazine Studio, he commissioned a life-size version. It is a duplicate of the latter that we now present. Making the impression of a genre scene while being solemnly modelled, the woman combing her hair creates an informal air. An allegory of the time of the day, the representation is made intimate by the woman’s nakedness, the realistic modelling, and the lyrical mood.