Barki Gergely et al.: Czóbel. A French Hungarian painter - ArtMill publications 5. (Szentendre, 2014)
László Jurecskó: Béla Czóbel in Nagybánya
23. Sándor Ziffer: Cemetery in Bretagne, 1906. Private collection 26. Catalogue of the Nagybánya anniversary exhibition, 1912 29 In 1906, besides Czóbel, Rezső Bálint, Tibor Boromisza, József Brunner, Dezső Czigány, B. Ernő Götz, Arnold Gara, Vilmos Huszár, Béla Iványi-Grünwald, Zoltán Jakab, Ervin Körmendi-Frim, József Komái, Zoltán Páldy, Vilmos Perlrott-Csaba, Ervin Plány, Alfréd Réth and Armand Schönberger worked in Nagybánya. 30 A nagybányai jubiláris képkiállítás illusztrált katalógusa [Illustrated Catalogue of the Nagybánya Anniversary Exhibition]. Compiled by Samu Börtsökand István Réti. Nagybánya, 1912. No. 49 - Béla Czóbel: Old Woman, 1905. Oil. Owned by Béla Réh; No. 83 - Béla Czóbel: Ringelspiel. [n.d.] Oil. Owned by József Pogány; 24. Tibor Boromisza: Spring Light, 1906. Private collection 25. Dezső Czigány: Haystacks in Nagybánya, 1906. Private collection There is no proof that this affair contributed to the fact that Czóbel did not visit Nagybánya anymore that year, but in any case, it provides an interesting insight. By 1906, the fermentation underway had grown to such an extent that it reached maturity the following year. In 1906, out of the 88 names on the attendance list 20 belonged then or later to the Neos’ camp.29 In 1907, a large majority of them returned to the city. Those missing were replaced by Géza Bornemisza, Valéria Dénes, Sándor Galimberti and Lajos Tihanyi, all of whom worked in Nagybánya in 1908 as well. That year they were joined by Géza Kádár, István Racskó, Stanislas Stückgold and Johann Tscharner. Thus, despite fluctuations, the proportion of the Neos remained relatively constant.They were also able to present at the Nagybánya anniversary exhibition of 1912, where Czóbel was represented by five pictures.30 Among them, Ferenc Lehel in Nagybánya appeared, as well as Old Woman from Brügge, although it is not known whether the organizers orthe artist himself covered up where the latter was produced. Unlike his Neo companions, Czóbel did not display works belonging to that style - which probably does not reflect his own decision, but that of Ferenczy and his company. A reason for this could be the fact that a good portion of the pictures prepared in Nagybánya were owned by the artist’s brother-in-law, Béla Réh - a model for the portrait painted in 1906 - from whom they had no trouble borrowing pictures for the exhibition (Plate 27). It is also indicative of a fact of artist sociology: insofar as the painter with an assured material background was still under no pressure to earn money from the sale of his pictures, there were absolutely no restraints placed upon his free creative activity. In summary, we could say that Nagybánya played a decisive role in the development of Béla Czóbel’s art. Here his style took shape and matured, here he made his first steps beyond the plein air style in the summer of 1904, and after a year’s absence, he returned here to create his first truly Fauve compositions. With these, he joined the ranks of the “wild ones” (Vadak or Fauves) and entered his name among the pioneers of modern art. Nagybánya was also the place where he fell in love with the sight of nature, and although this manifested itself in different ways, it essentially defined his painting as long as he lived. 28 CZÓBEL, A FRENCH HUNGARIAN PAINTER
