Contemporary East

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Lot 156
  • 156

Tibor Csernus

Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 GBP
bidding is closed

Description

  • Tibor Csernus
  • Nude and Plants
  • signed and dated 1984 on the reverse
  • oil on canvas
  • 150 by 180 cm; 59 by 70 7/8 in.

Provenance

Galerie Claude Bernard, Paris
Purchased from the above by the present owner in 2006

Exhibited

Bad Frankenhausen, Panorama Museum, Tibor Csernus. Zwischen Mythos und Realität, 2005, no. 15, illustrated
Budapest, Kogart House, Tibor Csernus, 2006, no. 75, illustrated
Hódmezővásárhely, János Museum and Community Center, In the Atelier of Tibor Csernus, 2012 – 2013
Nizhny Novgorod, Exhibition Complex, In the Atelier of Tibor Csernus, 2013



Catalogue Note

Painted in 1984 the present work was executed during a period in which Csernus’ works were inspired by Caravaggio. Most of Csernus’ paintings from the 1980s had either biblical themes or were still lives. While Caravaggio made the first step to move away from the sacred, Csernus was trying to extract the mysticism of a biblical scene and add pagan contemporary mystique to it. He was particularly inspired by Caravaggios’ use of chiaroscuro. Developing his own form of tenebrism, Csernus replicates Caravaggios‘ prominent use of strong contrasts between light and dark in the present work. The body posture of the female nude in the right corner mirrors Christ on the cross, while the addition of a garden hose undeniably pulls the scene into the present day and adds a surreal element to the composition.

Tibor Csernus’ style constantly evolved during the course of his career, transforming external influences into his own unique and modern style.   Having studied at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts after the Second World War, Csernus focused primarily on landscape painting executed in a socialist realist style until 1956. In 1957 he visited Paris for the first time and was introduced to the interwar period of French art. He subsequently investigated cubism and many of the other 20th century’s French trends in his paintings. From 1957 to 1964 his works can be described as surrealistic and mystic. By 1964 Csernus had moved to Paris permanently and turned towards a hyperrealist style. In the 1980’s the artists worked under the influence of Caravaggio, and by the 1990’s felt a strong affinity with the work of Hogarth and Traversi.