Skip Navigation

The Critic

Lajos Tihanyi

European Art

Lajos Tihanyi was a member of the Budapest avant-garde group called The Eight, who were engaged with the modern art trends emerging in the early twentieth century across Europe. He left his native country after the fall of the Hungarian Democratic Republic in 1919, eventually settling in Paris. In this portrait of his friend the Hungarian literary critic Andor Halasi, he emphasized the sitter’s pronounced bone structure with a subtle play of light and shadow.
MEDIUM Oil on canvas
  • Place Made: Hungary
  • DATES 1916
    DIMENSIONS 20 1/8 x 16 3/8 in. (51.1 x 41.6 cm) frame: 27 3/8 × 23 1/4 in. (69.5 × 59.1 cm)  (show scale)
    SIGNATURE Signed and dated lower left: "Tihanyi L./1916"
    COLLECTIONS European Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 29.1302
    CREDIT LINE Gift of the Right Reverend John Torok, D.D.
    PROVENANCE Prior to 1929, provenance not yet documented; by 1929, acquired by John Torok of New York, NY; 1929, gift of John Torok to the Brooklyn Museum.
    Provenance FAQ
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Lajos Tihanyi (Budapest, present-day Hungary (former Austro-Hungarian Empire), 1885 – 1938, Paris, France). The Critic, 1916. Oil on canvas, 20 1/8 x 16 3/8 in. (51.1 x 41.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Right Reverend John Torok, D.D., 29.1302 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 29.1302_PS9.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 29.1302_PS9.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2015
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT No known copyright restrictions
    This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement. You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
    RECORD COMPLETENESS
    Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.