János Vaszary

Painted in 1928.

Vaszary’s skill as one of Hungary’s leading colourists of the early twentieth century is superbly showcased in this stunning view of the coast at Pirano. A pupil of Bertalan Székely at the Budapest School of Decorative Arts, Vaszary moved on to study in Munich and then Paris at the Académie Julian. His style was continually evolving and was always at the forefront of modernism. During the course of his artistic career he explored a wide range of avant-garde artistic styles from Art Nouveau to Fauvism and Post-Impressionism.

Vaszary was a founding member of the Szolnok Colony on the edge of the Great Plain in 1902. In Nagybánya he shifted to a new stress on figurative painting rather than landscape. It was in Paris as a member of the group of Eight, inspired by the École de Paris and notably Dufy, Matisse, Derain and Van Dongen, that Vaszary developed his distinctive style. His depictions of carefree seaside resorts, such as the present work, were possibly a reaction to the horrors he witnessed during World War I as a soldier on the Serbian front in 1914.

Pirano combines fauve influences with Vaszary’s own characteristically adventurous approach to perspective and pictorial depth. Boldly employing layering devices inspired by Japanese woodcuts, Vazary challenges the traditional rules of composition, and his rapid, loose brushstrokes achieve a harmonious balance between figurative and plein air painting, as evident in the present work.