The memorial exhibition of Zsigmond Kisfaludi Strobl broadens our perspective, as for most people, the artist’s name is associated only with the Liberty Statue in Budapest and its accompanying sculptural group.
Meanwhile, throughout his entire life, the industrious sculptor gained international recognition. Between the two World Wars, he became increasingly popular in the West, while from the end of World War II onwards, the Soviet Union also provided him with numerous prestigious commissions.
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He Achieved Worldwide Fame in the West
As a young artist, he primarily created genre sculptures, portraits, and nudes, and following the Great War, he quickly became one of the most sought-after public sculptors. From the 1920s onwards, his name became internationally renowned. He travelled to England and the United States, where he received several prestigious fine arts awards. In the early 1930s, he spent several months living and working in his London studio, where leading figures of the era commissioned portrait sculptures from him, including Princess Elizabeth, George Bernard Shaw, Prince George, Duke of Kent, and many prominent members of Britain’s social elite.
Acclaimed in the East as Well
Kisfaludi Strobl was always among the most highly regarded artists of his time. In 1954, a major retrospective exhibition of his works was held at the Műcsarnok (Kunsthalle Budapest), which later travelled to several cities in the Soviet Union, as well as Prague and Bratislava. A two-time recipient of the Kossuth Prize, he also received numerous other prestigious state honours. He continued working tirelessly until his death, and the vast number of completed works and surviving sketches testify to his extraordinary productivity. His refined and expressive nude sculptures, psychologically insightful portraits, and brilliantly composed dynamic sculptural groups rank among the finest achievements of his era.
Drawing on his rich artistic legacy, a permanent exhibition dedicated to the artist opened in 1976 at the Göcseji Museum in Zalaegerszeg, the county seat of Zala County – a place that had always held a special place in his heart.
Highlights of the Kisfaludi Strobl Exhibition
Z.K.S.: Finale, 1910, bronze, 51.5 cm
Although the subject of this sculptural group appears traditional (The Three Graces), its composition was highly innovative. The work was inspired by a painful youthful romantic disappointment followed by tragedy: after the young, impoverished sculptor’s unsuccessful marriage proposal, the wealthy fiancé chosen by the woman’s parents died in an accident shortly before the wedding. The faces and gestures of the three ideally beautiful nude female figures, arranged in a rhythmic composition that seems to pulse with movement despite its stillness, reflect this sorrow. Their group simultaneously conveys closeness and distance, attraction and rejection, attachment and pain, encapsulating the essence of the story in an intimate allegory.
Strobl exhibited the sculpture at the Műcsarnok in 1912, where it won the 6,900-crown prize established by the late Baron József Rudics. In addition, the Municipal Gallery of Budapest purchased the work for 2,000 crowns. This marked the young sculptor’s first major professional and financial success. The recognition earned him prestige, enabled study trips abroad, and laid the foundation for his future career. As a result, his brief stylistic experimentation with Art Nouveau, Cubism, Expressionism, and other modern artistic movements soon came to an end.
Z.K.S.: Portrait of George Bernard Shaw, 1932, bronze, 50 cm
This portrait bust of the world-famous Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) is the sculptor’s most frequently reproduced portrait. At the request of textile manufacturer and art collector Manó Ágoston – who had been approached by Strobl himself – Shaw agreed to sit for the sculptor. Ágoston not only purchased the finished work but also donated it to the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest.
Shaw’s Opinion
The famously critical writer remarked that many sculptors – including Rodin, Epstein, and Trubetskoy – had portrayed him before, but only the portrait by the previously unknown Strobl satisfied him completely.
Shaw placed a second cast of the bust in his reception salon, while Rodin’s earlier portrait was moved to a less prominent room. He later sent the sculptor a photograph of the bust inscribed with the words:
“The sculpture is better than the original.”
This exceptionally expressive portrait captures Shaw’s complex personality so successfully that its two sides even reveal the duality of his dramatic and satirical character. It is considered one of the outstanding masterpieces of 20th-century Hungarian sculpture.
The Curator’s Favourite: Z.K.S.: Border Fortress Battles, 1927, patinated plaster, 57 cm
The bronze version of this three-figure equestrian battle scene was commissioned by the Hungarian National Archives together with István Szentgyörgyi’s sculpture depicting a Hungarian-Italian cavalry battle. Composing such a complex three-figure mounted combat scene, combining multiple phases of movement into a single sculpture, represents one of the greatest challenges in sculpture, a task that Kisfaludi Strobl mastered brilliantly.
Rearing horses, twisting bodies, deadly glances crossing one another, swirling movement – the viewer can almost hear the sounds of battle. Every angle reveals new details. Alongside heroism, the sculpture vividly expresses the spirit and courage traditionally associated with Hungarian warriors. The dynamic arrangement of the three figures clearly communicates the outcome of the battle: one Turkish opponent has already been defeated and is falling from his horse, while the defensive posture of the second enemy foreshadows yet another victory for the powerful Hungarian warrior.
On the occasion of his 80th birthday in 1964, the artist received a prestigious commission to create a monumental public version of the sculpture, approximately one and a half times life-size, for Dobó István Square beneath Eger Castle. The elderly master worked on this impressive monument for nearly three years, and it was inaugurated on 29 September 1967. The sculpture stood in its original location for almost half a century before being restored in 2015 and relocated to the more intimate Heroes of the Border Fortresses Square beneath Eger Castle, where it was installed on a lower pedestal.
