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1885 - 1938

Tihanyi Lajos

description

Hungarian avant-garde artist, who lived and worked in France for many years and became a part of the Paris School of Painting.

He began his creative career as a realist, close to naturalism. He was born into the family of the owner of the famous cafe “Balaton”. At the age of 11, he became deaf because of meningitis and was forced to abandon his studies at the gymnasium, graduating only after 4 classes. He inherited his artistic talent from his mother. He studied at the Székesfehérvár Industrial School of L. Telegdi and J. Böhm (1903-1905) and in private schools. Later, studying objectivity tension and applying a variety of innovative techniques, he came to more thematically emotional painting, the form of which was more vanguard. In his motherland, he was a member of such progressive associations of masters of fine arts as HIRC (Hungarian Impressionists and Naturalists Circle) and “Nyolcak” (“The Eight”). In Paris, Lajos Tihanyi was one of the representatives of the international group “Abstraction-Création”, which actively worked between 1931 and 1936. Paintings exhibited not only in Budapest, but also in Europe (Vienna, Berlin, Paris) and the United States. They are now in several museums and galleries around the world.

Key ideas:

– Such works as “Still Life with a Blue Bottle” and “Budapest”, were written in the style of Cezanne: clear expressive contours of objects, three-dimensional white drapery, “look from above” at houses. Lajos’ paintings reveal a complete understanding of Cezanne’s principles: the composition is formed logically; each object visually corresponds to its mass and thoughtfully fits into space.

– The influence of Expressionism can be clearly seen traced in painting “The Village of Centaurs”, demonstrated at the exhibition of the 8th National Salon in Budapest in 1912. The movements of mythical characters and the painting itself are extremely emotional, and the lines are thrilling and disquieting. The artist keeps these features in his version of the analytical, and then synthetic Cubism.

– The artist created a large number of remarkable portraits of his contemporaries. In the article about Tihanyi, L. Kassak notes: “portraits reflecting the deep secrets of the soul, with a pervasive sense of character, are of great value in our contemporary painting.” At the same time, the author himself refused to depict the portrayed as “internally spiritual” and claimed that it was only “building of an image” and that he was only interested in colors and lines.

– The initial desire of the artist was actually to “design the image, formally find color and compositional solutions, but the talent of the master revealed the secrets of the human soul.

– By the end of the 1920s, the plots and landscapes of the master became more and more similar to abstract compositions. The artist paid considerable attention to color solutions and a harmonious combination of elements constituting either an abstract or constructivist image.

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1885

1907

1909

1910

1913

1914

1916

1919

1924

1926

1929

1930

1938

The birth

He was born on October 29, 1885 in Budapest, Hungary.

Made a short study tour to Paris

Made a short study tour to Paris, where the retrospective exhibition of Cezanne was held, discovered the work of the Fauves, and then got acquainted with the art of Italian masters in Venice. In the summer time, he worked at the famous colony of artists in Nagybanya, but did not become a part of this school, remaining an essentially free self-taught artist.

For the first time, he exhibited three of his paintings

For the first time, he exhibited three of his paintings from Nagybanya at the collective exposition of the association HIN (Hungarian Impressionists and Naturalists), participated in several commercial exhibitions. The following year, he became one of the founders of the group “Nyolcak” (“The eight”). The debut exhibition of the group was called “New pictures” and was held in the salon of Kalman. 32 exhibited pictures caused a scandal. The picture of “Fighters” of Tihanyi was described by critics as the fuss of “black-haired black people in a green box”.

Tikhanyi participated in the exhibition of the 8th National Salon in Budapest

After the presentation of the “Eight” group, all its members were officially registered for participation in the National Salon of 1911. Tikhanyi also participated in the exhibition of the 8th National Salon in Budapest (1912).

The artist's works were shown at two exhibitions of Art House

In New York, a tour of five major American cities officially titled “The Exhibition of Contemporary Art of Hungary, the Czech Republic and Austria” was launched. All members of the “Eight” were represented among 40 Hungarian artists. The artist’s works were shown at two exhibitions of Art House, at the international exhibition in Dusseldorf and Stuttgart.

In the Hungarian debut in Vienna, the organizers excluded the works of Tihanyi

In the Hungarian debut in Vienna, the organizers excluded the works of Tihanyi and Bereni from the exposition. Although the incident was not accompanied by the announcement of the dissolution of the group, it demonstrated the weakening of internal solidarity and in fact closed the history of the “Eight”. However, they participated in the major exhibition at the World Exhibition in San Francisco (1915), where they had a separate hall.

Painted portraits

Painted portraits. Most landscapes were painted in Badakhshan. Of great importance for the artist was the acquaintance with artist and editor Cassac, who in 1918 organized his first solo exhibition at the salon “Today” (“Ma”, Budapest), which was a success.

Participated in the work of the cadastre of the Council of Hungary

Participated in the work of the cadastre of the Council of Hungary and in the organization of the colony of artists near Balaton. After the defeat of the revolution, he was forced to emigrate. First, he went to Vienna (there was his exhibition in Moderne Galerie in 1920), and then moved to Berlin, where he also exhibited (1921, the gallery of Möller), and finally settled in Paris in 1924.

The personal exhibition

The creative Parisian community soon accepted the artist and his art – he met P. Picasso, M. Utrillo, J. Cocteau, made friends with such famous countrymen as A. Kertes and T. Tzara. In 1925, Tihany held his personal exhibition in the Parisian avant-garde gallery.

At the 5th exhibition of Salon du Franc, the artist presented several paintings

At the 5th exhibition of Salon du Franc, the artist presented several paintings. One of them was purchased by the French state. Then he took part in the Art Contemporain and in the shows in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague. He worked with Mondrian, Brancusi, Chobel, and others.

Exhibited several paintings in the Brooklyn Museum

Exhibited several paintings in the Brooklyn Museum at a group exhibition. 12 works, mostly abstract, were shown at the Murai Gallery in New York, and upon return to Paris – at the Salon de Toiletries.

He continued exhibition activities

He continued exhibition activities, joined the members of the international “Abstraction-Creation: Art nonrepresentational”. An illustrated monograph by R. Desno (1936), describing the creative career of the Hungarian master, was published.