Historical Scene By Gyula Batthyany, Hungarian

Colorful historical scene by Hungarian painter and graphic artist Gyula Batthyány (1887-1959), showing the Hungarian rider and legendary figure Sandor Rozsa. Batthyány is known for his vivid, sometimes quirky depictions of aristocratic life and portraits of women. The artist combined different styles: decorative surrealism, art deco and art nouveau. This historical scene from the 1930s is a fine example of his work.

Batthyany studied at the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts under János Vaszary and later under Angelo Jank in Munich. Batthyany traveled all over the world and worked in Florence and Naples for many years. After the First World War he visited Asia, Egypt, Tunis, Madeira and the Canary Islands and therefore spent a lot of time in England and America. He established an artists' colony on his estate in Bicske in 1922 and co-directed an art school in Eger and Pecs with István Pekary in the 1930s.

Batthyany made many illustrations, sets and costumes for the National Hungarian Theatre. The painter was against National Socialism during World War II. After the war, he was exiled from his castle and lived in the house of his former servants. In 1953, he was sentenced, on false charges, for up to eight years in prison and deprived of assets. Gyula Batthyany died in 1959 in a psychiatric hospital in Budapest, Hungary.

Signed upper left.
Frame: new.

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