Still Life with a Picture of Napoleon

The Hungarian painter Dezső Czigány studied in Munich, Paris, and at the Nagybánya artists’ colony (in modern-day Romania) before returning to his native Budapest. He was a member of the Hungarian avant-garde group known as the Eight, who collectively reoriented Hungarian art between 1909 and 1918 under the impress of cubism, fauvism, and expressionism. Their first exhibition in 1909 caused a scandal. Although the group staged only three major exhibitions, it exerted a substantial influence on Hungarian cultural and intellectual life. Czigány painted many still lifes that reveal the influence of Gauguin and Cézanne. Later in his career, he produced numerous self-portraits, always depicting himself with a serious facial expression. In 1937, Czigány, who suffered from depression, experienced a psychotic break; he killed his own family and subsequently committed suicide.