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SZŐNYI, István
SZŐNYI, István
Painter
(Újpest, 17th January, 1894 – Zebegény, 30th August, 1960)
1913–1914, 1917–1919: The College of Fine Arts of Budapest, masters: Károly Ferenczy, István Réti. Szőnyi also attended the free school in Nagybánya. In 1929 he received a scholarship to Rome. From 1937 he was the teacher of the College of Fine Arts. 1949: Kossuth Award; 1952: Meritorious Artist Award. 1956: Eminent Artist Award. During his college years his work was influenced by the secessionist movement (Kettős arckép /Double portrait/, 1917), later the fine glazing and Renaissance light and shadow painting style of Rembrandt (Fürdés után /After bathing/, 1921; Bethsabé, 1923; Danaidák /Danaides/, 1924). In Szőnyi’s early works the formation of his figures is vigorous, almost classicist, with warm ocher and golden-brown senses. He lived in Zebegényben in the summers of the 1920’s; this is where his soft, and yet determined painting style evolved, which made him the master of Gresham group. He painted three period defining paintings there, in 1928: the Zebegényi temetés /Funeral in Zebegény/, the Zebegényi est /Night in Zebegény/ and the Átkelés a Dunán /Crossing of the Danube/. Due to the influence of his experiences in Rome his pallet became more vivid for a short period. Besides his art pedagogical work he continually participated in artistic public life of Hungary through the Gresham group. The usage of egg tempera became prominent in his works produced during the 1930’s, his colors became brighter, his surfaces veiled and lusterless (e.g.: Szürke a Duna /The Danube is gray/, 1935). In his painting entitled Esernyők /Umbrellas/ (1939) he combined unbound picturesqueness, evocating choice of topic, and cunning construction of his theme (an almost axonometric bird’s eye view, faces looking upwards from underneath black umbrellas). Kert Pad /Garden Bennch/ painted in 1949 is the picturesque summarization of his works prepared during the 1930’s; the composition is very simple, based on the multi-century old etalon of landscape painting. The image consists of a plentiful foreground, with the signaling of the repoussoir, the middle ground contains the main motifs (i.e. the yellow bench), while the background leads the viewers’ eyes outwards, holding the whole of the image within a closed structure. From 1950 he received a number of monumental commissions (1952: two pannos, constituting 100 square meters, for the Hungarian Pavilion of the Agricultural Exhibition in Moscow; 1953–1954: the carton of the fresco planned for the underground station at the Népstadion /Peoples’ Stadium/; 1956: the secco painted at the post office of Csepel), all of which he prepared with all his painting qualities, without fruition. Szőnyi spent his last years in Zebegény, and prepared small sized tempera works as well as a number of gouaches. These works are primarily pieces with intimate moods, containing strong inner enthusiasm, which are equal in their significance to his earlier works. He became acquainted with etching techniques during the course of the 1920’s and was soon a master in the preparation of deep print graphics, producing a large number of graphics of abiding value. He was able to realize the fine tones typical of his works with the simple technique of etching, which lend such unmatched air to his landscapes. The effects of light and shadow, as well as the plastic formation of his human figures, typical of his works produced in the 1920’s remained typical traits of his later works. A memorial museum was opened at the location of his workshop in Zebegény.
Painter
(Újpest, 17th January, 1894 – Zebegény, 30th August, 1960)
1913–1914, 1917–1919: The College of Fine Arts of Budapest, masters: Károly Ferenczy, István Réti. Szőnyi also attended the free school in Nagybánya. In 1929 he received a scholarship to Rome. From 1937 he was the teacher of the College of Fine Arts. 1949: Kossuth Award; 1952: Meritorious Artist Award. 1956: Eminent Artist Award. During his college years his work was influenced by the secessionist movement (Kettős arckép /Double portrait/, 1917), later the fine glazing and Renaissance light and shadow painting style of Rembrandt (Fürdés után /After bathing/, 1921; Bethsabé, 1923; Danaidák /Danaides/, 1924). In Szőnyi’s early works the formation of his figures is vigorous, almost classicist, with warm ocher and golden-brown senses. He lived in Zebegényben in the summers of the 1920’s; this is where his soft, and yet determined painting style evolved, which made him the master of Gresham group. He painted three period defining paintings there, in 1928: the Zebegényi temetés /Funeral in Zebegény/, the Zebegényi est /Night in Zebegény/ and the Átkelés a Dunán /Crossing of the Danube/. Due to the influence of his experiences in Rome his pallet became more vivid for a short period. Besides his art pedagogical work he continually participated in artistic public life of Hungary through the Gresham group. The usage of egg tempera became prominent in his works produced during the 1930’s, his colors became brighter, his surfaces veiled and lusterless (e.g.: Szürke a Duna /The Danube is gray/, 1935). In his painting entitled Esernyők /Umbrellas/ (1939) he combined unbound picturesqueness, evocating choice of topic, and cunning construction of his theme (an almost axonometric bird’s eye view, faces looking upwards from underneath black umbrellas). Kert Pad /Garden Bennch/ painted in 1949 is the picturesque summarization of his works prepared during the 1930’s; the composition is very simple, based on the multi-century old etalon of landscape painting. The image consists of a plentiful foreground, with the signaling of the repoussoir, the middle ground contains the main motifs (i.e. the yellow bench), while the background leads the viewers’ eyes outwards, holding the whole of the image within a closed structure. From 1950 he received a number of monumental commissions (1952: two pannos, constituting 100 square meters, for the Hungarian Pavilion of the Agricultural Exhibition in Moscow; 1953–1954: the carton of the fresco planned for the underground station at the Népstadion /Peoples’ Stadium/; 1956: the secco painted at the post office of Csepel), all of which he prepared with all his painting qualities, without fruition. Szőnyi spent his last years in Zebegény, and prepared small sized tempera works as well as a number of gouaches. These works are primarily pieces with intimate moods, containing strong inner enthusiasm, which are equal in their significance to his earlier works. He became acquainted with etching techniques during the course of the 1920’s and was soon a master in the preparation of deep print graphics, producing a large number of graphics of abiding value. He was able to realize the fine tones typical of his works with the simple technique of etching, which lend such unmatched air to his landscapes. The effects of light and shadow, as well as the plastic formation of his human figures, typical of his works produced in the 1920’s remained typical traits of his later works. A memorial museum was opened at the location of his workshop in Zebegény.
