Sándor Bortnyik

Galerie Gmurzynska & Bargera, Cologne (by 1972)
Sale: Christie's, Amsterdam, 4 December 2007, lot 45
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Cologne, Galerie Gmurzynska & Bargera, Sandor Bortnyik, Ölbilder, Gouachen, Zeichnungen, 1972, no. 6, illustrated in the catalogue
Cologne, Galerie Gmurzynska, The 1920s in Eastern Europe, 1975, no. 16a, illustrated in the catalogue (with incorrect measurements)

Oil, tempera and pencil on paper. The work is in overall good condition and ready to hang. The sheet is loose, laid on a mount and framed with a mat. The edges of the sheet have been covered with a transparent adhesive tape. A strip of Japan paper, possibly applied to minimise the fold lines, is visible along the upper edge on the reverse. There are two parallel diagonal fold lines in the upper left corner, two darker spots of retouching in the brown pigment towards the upper left and lower left corner, and some minor rubbing in the dark green hues in the lower right corner which might be inherent to the picture. There is one spot along the centre right edge, possibly glue. Ultra-violet light reveals no other sign of retouching. The work is glazed and presented in a dark silver frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Following his artistic training at the Budapest Free School under Károly Kernstok and József Rippl-Rónai, Sandor Bortnyik met Lajos Kassák (lots 89, 91-93) for the first time in 1915. Editor at the time of MA, the journal of the eponymous group promoting Hungarian Activism, Kassák invited Bortnyik to contribute to the magazine with drawings and prints which not only set the tone for his poster production, but also heavily contributed to the development of his artistic style. With the collapse of the Communist regime in Hungary, Bortnyik fled the country and settled in Weimar where he lived between 1922 and 1924, working closely with the Bauhaus.

Painted circa 1920-68, Composition with Vases bears witness to these experiences. The painting has been painted over a diagonal grid annotated in pencil. Borntyik seems to play with this grid by enlarging and shrinking its sections and by placing within it different objects derived from elementary shapes. The artist thus fragments and reassembles the picture plane into a flat, two-dimensional picture reminiscent of the Bauhaus style. Although Bortnyik never enrolled in the Bauhaus, upon his return to Budapest he used his experience to found and direct Műhely ('Workshop', aka 'little Bauhaus'), a school for advertising design whose pupils included Victor Vasarely among others. The composition's flatness, repetition of figures and the constructivist style of Composition with Vases are all typical traits of Bortnyik's works from this period.