Barki Gergely - Gulyás Gábor: Újragondolt Czóbel. A szentendrei Czóbel Múzeum állandó kiállítása (Szentendre, 2016)

In emigration in the Netherlands (1914-1919)

He took refuge from the war first in Rotterdam, where his accommodation was miserable. It was not until the middle of April 1915 that he could move to Amsterdam, where he was to live for two years, working in more favourable conditions. Initially he drew inspiration from the trove of classical paintings in the local museums (Fig. 6, 7), before going on to paint motifs he found in the city and his immediate environment.

As in Paris, so in Amsterdam he became associated with the most modern painters, exhibiting first with the Sphinx group, then with De Onafhankelijken (The Independents), and was even featured later at the display of the Signaal group. When his Amsterdam studio was turned into accommodation for war refugees in May 1917, he moved to the picturesque seaside town of Bergen. The Bergen School, or artist colony, played an essential role in Dutch artistic life. Foreign artists were also active in the colony, of whom French Cubist Henri Le Fauconnier had probably the greatest influence.

Czóbel retained his individuality during his time in Bergen, and following up on his own Fauvist-Primitivist period, created a number of major works in a style which, following the shift, now approximated the art of the German Expressionists (Fig. 8-11,13). By this time he was already featured at the exhibitions of the newly formed De Branding group, and his customers included several Dutch collectors.

361 Ülő nő I Sitting Woman 11938 körül | around 1938

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