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Vilmos Fémes Beck worked at the beginning of the twentieth century. He was an eminent representative of the young group of artists seeking for new expression in sculpture - the revival of Hungarian plastic art. His first master was his brother Fülöp Ö. Beck. He attended the Academy of Applied Arts, but besides metalwork he studied modelling as well. It was his metalwork that brought him his first success. Later in Munich he took up sculpture more seriously, and his study trips abroad also drew his attention more and more in that direction. He began as a follower of Hildebrand's theories. It was the principle of adapting form to the specific character of the material that convinced him of the requirements of modern sculpture. He first exhibited works that followed the modern trends in the 1911 exhibition of the Group of Eight. The "Kneeling Boy was made a year later.
The motif is simplified to a geometric formula with modified anatomical forms. The boy is kneeling on his left knee leaning back on his heel, with both hands raised. The arrangement of the legs remove the figure from the axis of symmetry, though it remain static. The boy is falling on his knees before the "miracle" and his face is transfigured by rapture. Joyful emotions radiate from the statue, especially the artist's sound belief in creative intellect.
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