Born in 1887, Istvan Farkas was the son of Josef Wolfner, the co- owner of Singer and Wolfner publishing company. After his studies at the Kern Academy in Munich he moved to Paris and attended the Académie de la Palette until the breakout of World War I. From 1915 to 1919, after being forced to return to Hungary, Farkas served on the Russian, Italian, and Serbian fronts. In 1924 he decided to return to Paris and befriended the pioneers of modern architecture Le Corbusier and Auguste Perret, and also spent time with Picasso's circle of friends: Jean Cocteau, Max Jacob, and Apollinaire. André Salmon asked Farkas to illustrate his collection of poetry correspondances, which was published in 1930. When Farkas's father died in 1932, he de...