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Dimensions: 50 by 60cm., 19 3/4 by 23 1/2 in.

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Provenance: PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, ITALY

Acquired by the parents of the present owner in Hungary prior to World War II; thence by descent

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Notes: Róbert Berény is considered one of the most important Hungarian avant-garde painters of his time. Throughout his career he changed style continually, remaining constantly at the forefront of artistic development in Hungary. Berény moved to Paris in 1905 to study at the Académie Julian. Whilst in Paris he came under the influence first of Cézanne and Fauvism, and then of Cubism. He exhibited at the Salon d'Automne and the Salon des Indépendants from 1908. Returning to Hungary in 1911 Berény became a member of the artistic group The Eight and his paintings turned increasingly towards Expressionism.

Berény played an active part in the arts administration of the Council Republic of 1919. With the suppression of the Republic he was forced into exile and lived in Berlin, producing little artwork. When he returned to Hungary in 1928 he associated himself with the Gresham group, a loose association of artists including Szönyi (see lot 63), Egry, Czóbel and Pátzay, who regularly met at the Gresham Café in Budapest. The ideal of the Gresham group members was an art that would draw on tradition, whilst at the same time retaining qualities of abstraction and timelessness. The present work was probably painted during this period, combining a realistic rendition of the sitter with modern compositional elements.