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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.
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    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
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