Nagy Ildikó szerk.: Nagybánya művészete, Kiállítás a nagybányai művésztelep alapításának 100. évfordulója alkalmából (A Magyar Nemzeti Galéria kiadványai 1996/1)

Passuth Krisztina: Utak Nagybányáról: Réth Alfréd

The Bathers. If he had stayed in Hungary, Réth probably would have joined the groups of Keresők (Searchers) and later Nyolcak (The Eights), developing his compositional skills in their circles. His powerful nudes, still-lifes and landscapes, which continued to preserve the best traditions of Nagybánya, would have been shown in their exhibitions. After 1910 Réth took part at the exhibitions of the Salon d'Automne and, after 1911-1912, of the Salon des Independents. At the same time, he also sent some of his works to the Nagybánya Jubilee Exhibition in 1912. Thus even in Paris he wanted to be identified with the Nagybánya community. The poet Ludwig Rubiner introduced him to the artists associated with the periodicals Der Sturm and Die Aktion in Berlin. The first opportunity to show his paintings in Germany arose in February, 1913, when he exhibited almost one hundred paintings in the avant-garde centre of Berlin, the gallery of Der Sturm, jointly with Julie Baum and Paul Klee. In April and May of the same year he took part at the International Post-Impressionist exhibition in Művészház, (Budapest) where his works were given great emphasis. His 36 pictures almost formed an independent exhibition within the exhibition. György Bölöni, one of the most devoted promoters of The Eights group, was the first to call attention to his Cubist style. Following this, Alfréd Réth became accepted in his chosen homeland, too. His first one-man show in France was organized at Galerie Berthe Weill. This exhibition was opened in the last minute before Réth, still a Hungarian citizen, was interned by the French authorities. During his involuntary stay in Brittany, his art continued to develop in the direction of Cubism, further away from the figurative traditions of Nagybánya. He showed his new artistic accomplishments in Budapest at the Salon Belvedere in 1922, but this exhibition went almost unnoticed. As Réth moved further and further away from the Nagybánya traditions, the Hungarian artist community responded less and less to his Cubistic style. The bonds between his art and the Hungarian trends finally broke off, never be rejoined.