Hungarian Venus: By the Waterside by Molnár Pál

From Hungary we bring you this luscious blonde in "By the Waterside" by Molnár Pál (1894-1981). Hungarians, of course, present their surnames first so it is Mr Molnár who was born in Battonya in 1894. He began his studies at the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts in 1915. Later he travelled to Switzerland before spending some time in Paris from 1921 until 1922.

He returned to Hungary the following year and concentrated on illustrations and graphic works; particularly woodcuts. In the late twenties he spent three years in Rome. During the thirties his work as a painter came to the fore. Much of his work had a religious theme and he had many commissions from the Church between the mid thirties and 1970.

He published several technical books and his autobiography was published in 1994, thirteen years after his death. His apartment in Budapest is now a museum.

Nude by the Window

Nudes at the lakeshore 1926

Given his religious paintings the sensuality of his nudes is, perhaps, something of a surprise. he tried many different styles during his long lifetime from the sub-Modigliani of Nudes at the lakeshore to the Degas-like Female nude with blue hair ribbon.

Female nude with blue hair ribbon

Blonde

Finding accurate titles and dates for his pictures, many of which are in private hands, is not easy so it is hard to trace the evolution of his style. Agent Triple P, of course enjoys the series of blonde rear views of which the above two, together with our title piece, are fine examples. The particularly prominent dimples on the backs of the subject in these three paintings lead us to believe that they are of the same model.

Our final Molnár (for which we do have a title: Nude in front of a mirror) is notable for the accurate depiction of the model's lower anatomy. Such a glimpse of what the Italians would call La fica is unusual in fine art.

Hungarian Venus: Corner of the Studio by István Csók

Corner of the studio

The remarkably long-lived Csók (1865-1961) went through many styles in his lifetime.

He studied in Budapest and Munich in the early 1880s before spending time in Paris between 1887 and 1910. He exhibited in Rome, San Francisco, Pittsburgh and London.

Magdalena

Later he taught at the Budapest Academy of Fine Arts, and was the president of various artistic associations and there is a museum dedicated to his work in Cece.

The dubiously titled "Honi soit qui mal y pense"

He produced a number of nudes but this dark, gypsy-looking specimen squirming in the corner of his studio is our favourite

One of his most famous pictures is his study of Erzsébet Báthory (1560-1614), the Hungarian Countess accused of killing hundreds (possibly as many as 600) of young women. Eventually she was walled up in a set of rooms in her own castle, where she died four years later before a tril could be organised.

Her behaviour sparked legends that she bathed in virgin's blood to keep her looks. Something that Hammer films happily depicted in Countess Dracula (1971) starring the magnificent Ingrid Pitt as the countess. In the opening of the film the credits are shown over the Báthory painting by Csók, showing the countess watching the torture of young girls in the snow. The original picture was lost during World War 2 although a colour sketch survives.

Hungarian Venus:Fürdő nő by Károly Lotz.

This is Fürdő nő (bathing woman) by Károly Lotz. Agent Triple P bought a nice reproduction of this, printed on canvas, at the National Gallery in Budapest where the original is on display.

Lotz (1833-1904), studied at the school of Karl Heinrich Rahl in Vienna after private studies with Marastoni and the workshop of Henrik Weber. As a talented pupil he was quickly given the opportunity to take part in the execution of Rahl's monumental fresco commissions and fresco painting became his speciality. Many of these can still be seen today in places like the Academy of Sciences, the Opera, the Casino, the Supreme Court and the Parliament building in Budapest.

Most of his nudes, like this one, After the Bath (1880), were done earlier in his career but Fürdő nő was painted in 1901. A late but very welcome addition!

He produced this trio of ripely abandoned bacchantes.

There was a fine tradition of nudes in late nineteenth and early twentieth century Hungarian painting and we will return to look at some other painters shortly. Agent Triple P would venture that this was no doubt down to the very fine potential material you can still find wafting around the streets of Budapest on a fine summers evening.