Barki Gergely et al.: Czóbel. A French Hungarian painter - ArtMill publications 5. (Szentendre, 2014)

Emőke Bodonyi: Czóbel's water colours and graphic works

157. BÉLA CZÓBEL: STANDING FEMALE NUDE, 1907. BUDAPEST, MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS - Hungarian National Gallery

Hungarian, Czech and Austrian graphic art.9 In the first period of his Berlin stay in Paul Cassirer’s gallery he displayed water colours and drawings by his paintings.1QThis was the first display, where the title referred to the material - Paintings, Water Colours, Drawings.

Whichever of his periods are in question, graphic works significantly represent his artistic thinking and its accomplishment. It is also proven by the works of his later exhibitions. In 1924, when - according to the preface of the catalogue - he again displayed his works in Hungary after 12 years, beside the 20 paintings, 15 water colours, 20 drawings, as well as 9 litographs and 1 etching were also staged in Belvedere Salon in Budapest.11 These last ones were most probably the numbered pieces of the series of 20 prints made in Germany. In 1924 and in 1925, he displayed graphic works on the KÚT (Képzőművészek Új Társasága /The New Association of Visual Artists) exhibitions.12 These works are hardly known, but the reproductions of two drawings appeared in the periodical entitled KÚT.

4 Ámos Imre napló, vázlatkönyvek, levelezőlapok [Imre Ámos’s Diaries, Sketchbooks, Postcards]. Published by Mária Egri and János Kőbányai. Budapest: Múlt és Jövő Kiadó, 2003, p 41.

5 Bárki, Gergely: “Czóbel Béla”.

In: A Nyolcak. Centenáriumi kiállítás [The Eight. Centenary Exhibition]. Csilla Markója and István Bardoly (eds). Baranya Megyei Múzeumok Igazgatósága - Magyar Tudományos Akadémia Művészettörténeti Kutatóintézete, 2010, pp 236-253.

6 Barthélémy, Sophie: “Pan! Dans l’oeil... A Magyar vadak fogadtatása a párizsi szalonokban a korabeli francia kritikák tükrében [Just look! Hungarian Fauves’ Reception in French Salons as Reflected in Contemporary French Criticism] (1904-1914)”.

In: Magyar Vadak (op. cit. in note 3), pp 72-73, 77. The study deals in a detailed way with the exhibition, and concludes that with the exception of one work - Man in Straw Hat - the material staged cannot be identified. See also Bárki, Gergely:

“Czóbel, az ismeretlen ismerős [Czóbel, the Unknown Acquaintance]”.

In: Czóbel. Erdész és Makláry Fine Arts, 2007.

7 The International Post-Impressionist Exhibition, 7973. Budapest: Artist House [Müvészház], Nos 38 and 213 of the catalogue are Czóbel’s drawings.

8 September 7973, A Jury-Free Exhibition. Budapest: Artist House [Müvészház]. Czóbel’s works are Nos 22-34 in the catalogue. February- March 7974, An Exhibition of the Artist House [Müvészház]. Czóbel’s works are Nos 25-30 in the catalogue.

9 Catalogue of an Exhibition of Contemporary Graphic Art in Hungary, Bohemia and Austria. The Art Institute of Chicago, 5 March - 1 April 1914. The exhibition was staged in several American cities.

10 Czóbel, Béla: Gemälde / Aguarelle / Zeichnungen. Rohlfs, Christian: Aguarelle / Holzschnitte. März 1920, Galerie Paul Cassirer, Berlin W. Victoria str. 35.

11 Gallery Belvedere, February 7924. Catalogue with a List of Works. Preface by Béla Fónagy. It mentions that Czóbel had not displayed since 1912 in Hungary. However, as we could see, he even in 1914 showed his works in 1914 in the Müvészház.

CZÓBEL’S WATER COLOURS AND GRAPHIC WORKS

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