European School
Hungarian artistic group formed in 1945 and active in Budapest until 1948. It was modelled on the Ecole de Paris and founded on the belief that a new artistic vision could only be established from a synthesis of East and West. According to its programme, it represented Fauvism, Cubism, Expressionism, abstract art and Surrealism in Hungary. The aim of its members was to organize exhibitions, publish writings and encourage contact between artists. Members included the
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European School
Hungarian artistic group formed in 1945 and active in Budapest until 1948. It was modelled on the Ecole de Paris and founded on the belief that a new artistic vision could only be established from a synthesis of East and West. According to its programme, it represented Fauvism, Cubism, Expressionism, abstract art and Surrealism in Hungary. The aim of its members was to organize exhibitions, publish writings and encourage contact between artists. Members included the art historians and critics Erno Kállai, A’rpád Mezei and Imre Pán, and painters in the group included, among others, Margit Anna, Jenô Barcsay, Endre Bálint, Béla Czóbel, József Egry, Jenô Gadányi, Dezso Korniss, Tamás Lossonczy, Ferenc Martyn and Erno Schubert. Among the sculptors were Dezso Bokros Birmann, Erzsébet Forgách Hahn, Etienne Hajdu (in Paris), József Jakovitz and Tibor Vilt. Marcel Jean, the Surrealist theorist who lived for a while in Budapest, was an honorary member, while Imré Amos and Lajos Vajda were looked to as role models. The group did not adhere to a unified style; for example, while Jenô Gadányi’s Fantastical Landscape (1948; Budapest, N.G.) was Expressionist, Jeno Barcsay’s Street (1946; Budapest, N.G.) was influenced by Cubism. The members sought to use both organic and inorganic forms to balance rationalism and intuition in their work. The majority of them started from the Constructivist–Surrealist scheme introduced by Lajos Vajda. Some of them produced ‘bioromantic’ work after World War II. Others worked towards monumentality through Expressionist–Constructivist works. They organized 38 exhibitions of members’ (and some foreign) work.
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