Passuth Krisztina – Szücs György – Gosztonyi Ferenc szerk.: Hungarian Fauves from Paris to Nagybánya 1904–1914 (A Magyar Nemzeti Galéria kiadványai 2006/1)

HUNGARIAN FAUVES CASE STUDIES - GERGELY BARKI: The Evolution of Czóbel's Fauvism in the Mirror of his Early Portraits

Musée National d'Art Moderne in Paris. It was claimed in the catalogue, where the composition was reproduced, that it was identical with the portrait shown in the Fauves' room at the 1906 exhibition of the Salon d'Automne.

44 A previously unpublished interview with Czobel confirms the catalogue's claim. Talking about the composition in question, Czobel said the following: "Dr. Réh in the Gallery, 1906. The other seated man was a Hungarian student, whom I painted in Paris. It was shown at the S. D'autom [sic!] in 1906."

45 Previously believed to be in hiding and known only from a black-and-white reproduction, the portrait has now turned up in the museum of La Rochelle.

46 After a very long absence, it is now presented to the Hungarian audience for the first time. (Fig. 12, Cat. No. 106) But neither this, nor the other portrait can be described as a Fauvist composition. Both pictures show a very strong Post-Impressionistic influence. In the case of the latter portrait, one cannot help thinking of Van Gogh's famous Portrait of Père Tanguy as a possible source of inspiration, for example. (Fig. 13) It was hardly a coincidence that Louis Vauxcelles also detected reminiscences of Van Gogh's influence in all of the works that Czobel exhibited at the time. Vauxcelles, otherwise a critic of discerning judgment, was probably misled by the feminine appearance of Czóbel's first name, Béla (believing it to be a variation on Bella), when he described him as a hot-blooded woman painter: "Madame Béla Czóbel: as a rule, ladies tend to apply paint in layers not as thick. She is different from the other woman painters at the exhibition. This is a 'Madame van Gogh' of more cautious proportions. A fine contralto with a raspy voice."

47 Throughout his life, Czóbel acknowledged Van Gogh's formative influence as a primary source of inspiration. Even as late as the 1940s, he decorated the walls of his Paris studio with the reproductions of compositions by Van Gogh and other Post-Impressionist painters.

48 20. Isaac Grünewald: Portrait of Adolphe Basler, 1927 Private collection, Sweden 21. Amedeo Modigliani: Portrait of Adolphe Basler, cca. 1916 Brooklyn Museum, New York 22. Moïse Kisling: Portrait of Adolphe Basler, 1914 Association des Amis du Petit Palais, Genève 7 7. Adolphe Basler and Amedeo Modigliani 18. Béla Czóbel: Adolphe Basler on 19. Béla Czóbel: Adolphe Basler and in Café Dôme, cca. 1915 the Terrace of Café Dôme Moïse Kogan in the Dôme Detail of an archive photograph Unknown location Cat. No. 120.