Róbert Berény (18 March 1887 – 10 September 1953) was a Hungarian

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

, one of the ''

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

'' group known as The Eight who introduced

cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

and

expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

to Hungarian art in the early twentieth century before the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He had studied and exhibited in Paris as a young man and was also considered one of the Hungarian '' Fauves.''

Early life and education

Róbert Berény was born in Budapest in 1887. As a young man of 17, in 1904 he studied under the artist

Tivadar Zemplényi Tivadar Zemplényi (1864, Eperjes – 1917, Budapest) was a Hungarian painter, noted for his realism. A medalist at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis World's Fair, he also exhibited at the 1900 Exposition Universelle (1900), Expos ...

for several months before moving to study at the in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. While there, Berény was particularly influenced by the power of

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work introduced new modes of representation, influenced avant-garde artistic movements of the early 20th century a ...

's art. He also adopted some of the uses of color of the Fauve movement, and exhibited at the with French artists of the Fauvists.''Hungarian Fauves from Paris to Nagybánya, 1904-1914: Exhibition in the Hungarian National Gallery, 21 March--30 July 2006'', Kristina Passuth and György Szǔcs, Lóránd Bereczky, 2006

Career

Berény is best known for his form of

and

, which he developed in association with the ''

'' group known as The Eight, who had their first exhibit together in Budapest in 1909. They included the leader

Károly Kernstok Károly Kernstok (23 December 1873, in Budapest – 9 June 1940, in Budapest) was a Hungary, Hungarian painter. In the early twentieth century, he was known for being among the leading groups of Hungarian painters known as the "Neos" and The Ei ...

Lajos Tihanyi Lajos Tihanyi (29 October 1885 – 11 June 1938) was a Hungarian painter and lithographer who achieved international renown working outside his country, primarily in Paris, France. After emigrating in 1919, he never returned to Hungary, even on a ...

Béla Czóbel Béla Czóbel (4 September 1883 – 30 January 1976) was a Hungarian painter, known for his association with The Eight in the early 20th century in Budapest. They were known for introducing Post-Impressionist styles into Hungary, in addition t ...

Dezső Czigány Dezső Czigány (1 June 1883 – 31 December 1937) was a Hungarian painter who was born and died in Budapest. He was one of The Eight (Nyolcak), The Eight (1909–1918), who first exhibited under that name in Budapest in 1911 and were influential ...

Ödön Márffy Ödön Márffy (30 November 1878 – 3 December 1959) was a Hungarian painter, one of The Eight in Budapest, credited with bringing cubism, Fauvism and expressionism to the country. Biography Following a short basic training, he obtained a g ...

, Dezső Orbán, and

Bertalan Pór Bertalan Pór (4 November 1880 – 28 August 1964) was a Hungarian painter associated with the development of modernist Hungarian art. He was a member of The Eight, a movement among several Hungarian painters in the early twentieth century who ...

. He brought to them French influences from his time in Paris. At their next exhibition, in 1911, the group identified as ''A Nyolcak'', or "The Eight." They essentially formed the core of modernist experimentation, and were part of radical intellectual currents in music and literature, as well. Berény's most important work of this early period is his portrait of the composer

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...

(1913). That year he also painted ''Scene.'' In 1919, Berény participated in the art life of the brief

Hungarian Democratic Republic The First Hungarian Republic (), until 21 March 1919 the Hungarian People's Republic (), was a short-lived unrecognized country, which quickly transformed into a small rump state due to the foreign and military policy of the doctrinaire pacifis ...

, and was the leader of the department for painting in the Art Directorate. After the fall of the republic that year, Berény emigrated to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, together with numerous other Hungarian artists and writers. He lived and worked there for several years, continuing his emphasis on cubism and expressionism. He did not return to Hungary until 1926. After 1934, he worked in

Zebegény Zebegény is a picturesque historic village in Pest county, Hungary. It is located 60 km north of Budapest in the Danube Bend, next to the Duna-Ipoly National Park. It is a favourite destination for tourists, who love the quiet and the fre ...

, near the

Danube Bend The Danube Bend () is a curve of the Danube in Hungary, close to the town of Visegrád. Geology The present-day U-shaped loop is probably the result of an eruption of the volcano stretching over the whole area some 15 million years ago. The ...

in northern Hungary. He was awarded the Szinnyei Prize in 1936. During the last year of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Berény's atelier was destroyed, together with many of his works. After the war, under the communist government, he became a teacher in what is now the

Hungarian University of Fine Arts The Hungarian University of Fine Arts ( Hungarian: , MKE) is the central Hungarian art school in Budapest, Andrássy Avenue. It was founded in 1871 as the Hungarian Royal Drawing School ''(Magyar Királyi Mintarajztanoda)'' and has been called ...

in Budapest. He died in 1953. Since the late twentieth century and the political changes in eastern Europe, there has been renewed interest in Hungary's early modernist artists. The exhibits below have honored Berény and others of The Eight, and two bracket the centenary of their first exhibit in 1911 under that name.

Rediscovered work

A Berény painting titled ''

Sleeping Lady with Black Vase ''Sleeping Lady with Black Vase'' ( Hungarian: ) is a 1927–1928 oil painting by Róbert Berény. It is a depiction of the painter's wife reclining asleep in a blue dress behind a table on which is set a black vase. The painting was sold in 1928 ...

'', whose whereabouts had been unknown since 1928, was re-discovered by chance in 2009 by art historian Gergely Barki upon watching the 1999 American film ''

Stuart Little ''Stuart Little'' is a 1945 American children's novel by E. B. White. It was White's first children's book, and became recognized as a classic in children's literature. ''Stuart Little'' was illustrated by the artist Garth Williams, also his f ...

'' with his daughter, where the piece was used as a prop. An assistant set designer had bought the painting cheaply from a California antique store for use in the film, and had kept it in her home after production ended. The painting was sold at auction in Budapest on 13 December 2014 for €229,500.

Exhibits

*1991–1992, ''Standing in the Storm: The Hungarian Avant-Garde from 1908-1930'', Santa Barbara Museum of Art,

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

''Standing in the Storm: The Hungarian Avant-Garde from 1908-1930''
''Hungarian Studies'', Vol. 19, No. 1-2, 1994, accessed 2 February 2013 * 2006, ''Hungarian Fauves from Paris to Nagybánya, 1904-1914'', 21 March – 30 July 2006, Hungarian National Gallery * 2010, ''A Nyolcak (The Eight): A Centenary Exhibition,'' 10 December 2010 – 27 March 2011, Janus Pannonius Museum, Pécs * 2012, ''The Eight. Hungary's Highway in the Modern'' (Die Acht. Ungarns Highway in die Moderne), 12 September - 2 December 2012, Bank Austria Kunstforum,

Wien Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, collaboration with Museum of Fine Arts and Magyar Nemzeti Galéria, Budapest.Bécs, Kunstforum: ''Die Acht. Ungarns Highway in die Moderne''
2012, Bank Austria Kunstforum, accessed 29 January 2013

References

External links and sources

Fine Arts in Hungary {{DEFAULTSORT:Bereny, Robert 1887 births 1953 deaths Painters from Budapest Académie Julian alumni Hungarian art educators Jewish painters Academic staff of the Hungarian University of Fine Arts 20th-century Hungarian painters 20th-century Hungarian male artists Hungarian male painters