Hugo Scheiber (1873-1950) - Cabaret Scene

Tempera on cardboard Dimensions: 30 x 20 cm Scheiber, Hugo Born in 1873 in Budapest, Hugó Scheiber moved at the age of eight, with his family, to Vienna where he worked, alongside his father, as a painter. signs in the theater. At fifteen, he returned to his hometown and began attending the School of Industrial Design and the School of Decorative Arts. In the early 1900s, he painted in a post-impressionist style. It was not until around 1910 that he turned his interest to German Expressionism and Futurism. In the memoirs of composer Paul Arma, Scheiber is described as "almost self-taught, almost illiterate, [...] a sort of primitive genius, a force of nature [...], a virtuoso entirely by instinct". In 1915, he met Filippo Tommaso Marinetti who invited him to join the futurist movement. In 1921, following the support of Lajos Kassák, he exhibited with his friend Béla Kádár in Berlin at Max Hevesi. This event gave him his first recognition and brought him the money necessary to continue his activity. At the time, he was fascinated by images of metropolitan life, painting the interiors of cafes, theaters, cabarets and circuses which were frequented by society. Kassák's letter of recommendation led him to the gallery of Herwarth Walden, who took a keen interest in his expressive portraits, which – alongside other works – were regularly reproduced from 1924 in his magazine. His compositions will also be exhibited in the gallery during the individual exhibitions of 1924, 1925 and 1927. He will also participate in group exhibitions until 1928. Thanks to his success in Berlin, he begins to exhibit in London (Rehearsal Theater, Popler Town Hall) and in New York (Brooklyn Museum, Gallery Anderson, Little Reviev), invited by the Société Anonyme of Katherine Dreier. In the 1930s, his exhibitions traveled to La Paz. In 1933, requested by Marinetti, Scheiber participated in the great Futurists exhibition in Rome. In the last years of his life, he presented his futuro-expressionist works at the National Salon and the Ernst Museum in Budapest. After the war, like his friend Kádár, he lived in poverty and oblivion until his death in 1950.