Gyula Batthyany
(Ikervar, HU 1887 – 1959 Budapest)
Historical Scene
Mixed Media
87 x 61 cm
framed
Colorful historical scene by the Hungarian painter and graphic artist Gyula BATTHYANY (1887-1959). Batthyány is known for his vivid, sometimes quirky depictions of aristocratic life and portrays of women. In his work he masterfully mixed different styles: decorative surrealism, art deco, 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 Angelo Jank in Munich. Batthyany travelled all over the world and worked in Florence and Naples for many years. After World War I he toured Asia-Minor, Egypt, Tunis, Madeira and the Canary Islands and also spent a good deal of time in England and America. He established an artist colony on his estate in Bicske in 1922 and co-directed a painting school in Eger and Pécs with István Pekáry in the 1930s. Batthyany made numerous illustrations, stage sets and costumes for the National Theatre. The painter was against National Socialism during World War. After the war, he was exiled from his castle and lived in his former servants' house. In 1953 he was sentenced on trumped-up charges to eight years in prison and deprived of assets. Because of his age he was released earlier, in 1956. Gyula Batthyany died in 1959 in a mental hospital in Budapest, Hungary.
