Béla Kontuly (1904 in
Miskolc
Miskolc ( , ; ; Czech language, Czech and ; ; ; ) is a city in northeastern Hungary, known for its heavy industry. With a population of 161,265 as of 1 January 2014, Miskolc is the List of cities and towns in Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, ...
– 1983 in
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
) was a Hungarian painter and art teacher.
His life
He completed his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
and the Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest, under
István Réti
István Réti (26 December 1872 – 17 January 1945) was a Hungarian painter, professor, art historian and leading member, as well as a founder and theoretician, of the Nagybánya artists' colony, located in what is present-day Baia Mare ...
and Andor Dudits. His works were already exhibited in the Eastern Slovakia Museum in
Košice
Košice is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of approximately 230,000, Košice is the second-largest cit ...
(Kassa) while he was still in college. From 1928 to 1930, he was a scholarship recipient of the Hungarian Academy in Rome together with his wife, Hajnalka Fuchs.
In 1932, he organized a collection exhibition of his works at the
Ernst Museum. In 1934, he joined the Munkácsy Céh Art Association. He created the frescoes of the staircase of the
University of Szeged
The University of Szeged () is a Public university, public research university in Szeged, Hungary. Established as the Jesuit Academy of Kolozsvár in present-day Cluj-Napoca in 1581, the institution was re-established as a university in 1872 by ...
, the Hermina út chapel in Budapest, the Church of the Holy Spirit in Herminamező and the Catholic church in
Komárom
Komárom (Hungarian: ; or ; , later ; ) is a city in Hungary on the south bank of the Danube in Komárom-Esztergom County. Komárom fortress played an important role in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 and many contemporary English sources r ...
, and in 1939 the murals of the St. Anne's Church in Víziváros; the latter together with C. Pál Molnár.
His significant works also include: the decoration of the
Vác Cathedral and the Domonkos Church on Thököly út in Budapest, as well as the fresco titled the '
''Announcement of the Golden Bull''
' in the hall of the
Székesfehérvár
Székesfehérvár (; ; ; ; Serbian language, Serbian: ''Стони Београд''; ), known colloquially as Fehérvár (), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the Regions of Hungary, regional capital of C ...
town hall. In 1940, he received the Székesfőváros award for his painting called The Resurrection of Jairus's Daughter''
'.
From 1939 to 1947 he taught at the College of Fine Arts. After 1945, he mainly restored frescoes on commission and painted murals for churches. In 1974, he organized a collection exhibition of his works in
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
, which was also his last exhibition.
References
External links
Béla Kontuly on artportal
1904 births
1983 deaths
People from Miskolc
20th-century Hungarian painters
Hungarian male painters
20th-century Hungarian male artists
{{Hungary-painter-stub