Charles Malfray

CHARLES MALFRAY (Orleans, 1887-Dijon, 1940).
"L'homme recroquevillé".
Bronze.
Exemplary 2/8.
Signed and numbered.
Measurements: 12 x 17 cm cm.

Charles Malfray was a French sculptor. Son of a stonemason of Orleans, he studied at the School of Fine Arts of Orleans. At seventeen, he attended the Paris School of Decorative Arts and the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts. However, he rejected the school's academic teaching and was attracted to the art of Auguste Rodin and Antoine Bourdelle, who were based in Montmartre. Malfray survived World War I after being gassed and participating in the battle of Verdun, but was deeply affected by his experiences. Together with his brother, he created the war memorials to the dead of Pithiviers (1920) and Orleans (1924), whose modernism was much discussed. In 1920 he was awarded the Prix Blumenthal, but due to his illness as a result of the war, he was on the verge of abandoning sculpture. However, in 1931, his friend Aristide Maillol appointed him his successor as professor at the Académie Ranson in Paris. During the following years, Malfray had many pupils in his workshop, among them Étienne Martin, François Stahly, Nessa Cohen and Jean Le Moal. A street in Orléans is named after Rue Charles Malfray.