András Beck (1911–1985) was a Hungarian

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. He was noted for his symbolic and expressionist

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

statuettes A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with cla ...

and portrait busts. His 3.5-metre-tall statue commemorating the death of

Jan Palach Jan Palach (; 11 August 1948 – 19 January 1969) was a Czech student of history and political economics at Charles University in Prague. His self-immolation in 1969 at age 20 was a political protest against the end of the Prague Spring resul ...

was transported from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

to the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

to be installed in

Mělník Mělník (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban monument zon ...

, the city of studies of Jan Palach, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of his death.

Early life

Beck was born in Alsógöd in 1911. His father, artist Ödön Fülöp Beck, trained him from a young age, and he later became a pupil of

Zsigmond Kisfaludi Strobl Zsigmond Kisfaludi Strobl (1 July 1884 – 14 August 1975) was a Hungary, Hungarian sculptor and artist. His sculptural style integrated elements of Realism (arts), realism and academism style mainly engaged in creating portrait busts. Extern ...

at the Hungarian Art School for three years, where his talent began to flourish. He left on a study trip to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and then

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where his early works were exhibited.

Career

From the 1930s he became well known for his expressionist sculpture, creating

plaquette A plaquette (; "small plaque") is a small low relief sculpture in bronze or other materials. These were popular in the Italian Renaissance and later. They may be commemorative, but especially in the Renaissance and Mannerist periods were often ...

s of

Árpád Tóth Árpád Tóth (14 April 1886 – 7 November 1928) was a Hungarian poet and translator. Tóth went to secondary school (gymnasium) in Debrecen and then studied German and Hungarian at the University of Budapest. In 1907, his poems began t ...

, Bartók, Móricz, and

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

. Between 1945 and 1955 he was hired to sculpt figures for display in various towns and cities. Settling permanently in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1956, in 1963 his lyrical works were exhibited at the Galerie Lambert. In 1947 Beck was appointed the president of the Trade Union of Hungarian Artists, subsequently leaving for

, where in 1948 he became teacher of the Art School.BECK, András
During this tenure there he designed the

Leonardo da Vinci Medal The Leonardo da Vinci Medal is the highest award of the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT), and was first given in 1962. In general this award is granted annually to scholars who have contributed outstandingly to the history of technology ...

. In the late 1960s he created ''Refugees'' (1967) and ''Dance'' (1969) and his famous ''Masque de Saint-John Perse'' bronze mask of writer

Saint-John Perse Alexis Leger (; 31 May 1887 – 20 September 1975), better known by his pseudonym Saint-John Perse (; also Saint-Leger Leger), was a French poet, writer and diplomat, awarded the 1960 Nobel Prize in Literature "for the soaring flight and the ev ...

. By the late 1970s he was employed at the Mint in Paris, where a number of his works were exhibited but retired from active sculpture creation in 1980.

Death

Beck died in

in 1985 in a car accident.

References

External links

Beck's sculpture in France

1911 births 1985 deaths 20th-century Hungarian sculptors {{Hungary-sculptor-stub