Charles Malfray

Le Silence, Allegory of Poilu's loneliness and suffering during World War I

Charles Malfray (born on 19 July 1887 in Orléans and died on 28 May 1940 in Dijon) was a French sculptor.

He was a student of the École des Beaux-Arts d'Orléans. At seventeen, he attended the School of Decorative Arts in Paris and the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts.^[1] Attracted by the art of Auguste Rodin and Antoine Bourdelle, Charles Malfray survived in 1916 after the Battle of Verdun. In 1920, he created the Monuments to the dead of Pithiviers and Orleans,^[2] whose modernism was highly debated. Ruined by this work, sick as a result of the war, he almost gave up sculpture. But in 1931, his friend Aristide Maillol appointed him as his successor at the Académie Ranson. During the following years, Malfray had many students in his workshop, including Étienne Martin, François Stahly, Nessa Cohen, and Jean Le Moal.

A street in Orléans was named after Charles Malfray.

Main works

• Lyon, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Torse de nageuse
• Orléans, Musée des Beaux-Arts, La Danse (bronze), Femme assise (bronze), Le Baiser (plaster), La Beauce (plaster), Torse de baigneuse (plaster), Homme marchant avec une besace (plaster), Torse de femme (plaster), Deux baigneuses (plaster), La Danse (plaster)
• Paris, Musée d'art moderne, La Danse, 1939

Bibliography

• Jacques de Laprade, Charles Malfray, dessins et sculptures, Mourlot, Paris, 1945
• Charles Malfray, André Chamson, Paris, Petit Palais, 1947
• Charles Malfray, Waldemar George, Paris, Musée Rodin, 1966
• Hommage à Charles Malfray, Orléans, Musée des Beaux-Arts, 1967

References