Born in Braila, in 1895, M.H. Maxy had both a Jewish and German origin, and eventually would be a painter, decorative artist, teacher, draftsman and so on, trying to bring together the three national traditions. This mix will influence and definettely mark his style, as he is considered to have been a Cubism, a Constructivist and a modernist, one of the most original and surprising of 20th century Romanian artists.
Shortly after his birth the family moved to Bucharest, and in 1913 - 1916 the artist enrolled at the Fine Arts School, where he studied under Fr. Storck and Camil Ressu, slowly forming and maturing his style, at the same time discovering the fashionable influences at the moment. He fought in WWI and in 1918, together with I Ross and I Steurer had his first group exhibition, in Iasi, presenting a series of works inspired by the horror and tragedy of the war. His first ever solo show came in 1920, in Bucharest, while just an year later, already a recognised painter, exhibited at the show of Arta Romana, a cultural society.
He left for Berlin and studied there in 1922 - 1923 with Arthur Segal, becoming a member of the Novembergruppe and exhibiting on several occasions. His next great achievement came in 1924, when he exhibited at the International Show of the "Contimporanul", together with other great names such as Brancusi, Klee, Segal, Iancu, Brauner and others. In the same year, inspired by the Bauhaus experiment, M.H. Maxy founded the important Modern and Decorative Art School in Bucharest, a place thorugh which he was trying to combine all forms of art. Later the name will change to the Decorative Art Studio, in 1928, when Maxy was influenced by art-deco. He was also one of the founders of the avantgarde magasine Integral, together with Brunea-Fox, Ion Calugaru, Ilarie Voronca.
In 1929 Maxy also exhibited at the New Art group show and even won a gold medal at the International Exhibition in Barcelona, in the same year, where he presented a selection of decorative arts. Until 1938, when anti-semite politics made his life and artistic activity more than difficult, Maxy exhibited at all of the "Contimporanul" exhibitions, at several avantgarde shows - both in Romania and abroad - and even contributed to the works of the prestigious Criterion society.
He also worked for the Baraseum theatre, using his theatrical experience, and later, in 1941, became the director of the theatre. He also taught at the Jewish Art School during the was, amidst full antisemite persecutions. After the war he returned in full force to the world of art and continued teaching, working and exhibiting. Maxy became the director of the Art Museum of Romania in 1949, a teacher at the Nicolae Grigorescu Art Institute until 1951 and encouraged young generations of artists, serving as an example and guide. He died in 1971, in Bucharest.
M.H. Maxy is today considered one of the most important Cubist and Constructivist of Romanian artists. He was also very much appreciated for his numerous portraits, many of these published in the interwar and postwar cultural magasines, as well as for the book illustrations that he provided for volumes published by Sasa Pana or Ilarie Voronca
2008-06-04
