29.04.2025Guest-Lecture: Matisse and the Hungarian fauves by Dr. Gergely Barki (Budapest)

The influence of Henri Matisse's art extended far beyond Paris already in the period before the outbreak of the First World War, it was extremely strong in Germany, Scandinavia, the USA and even in the eastern parts of Europe, like Russia, etc. What is less known in the international Matisse research is how diverse the master's influence was in Hungary and among Hungarian artists living in Paris at that time. In addition to this, the sources of other contemporary Hungarian eye-witnesses, journalists and critics can also be an important contribution to the research on Matisse.

In my lecture I will show the wide-ranging influence of Matisse on the Hungarian Fauves, especially on the students at his school. Partly in this context, the role of the Steins will be analysed in detail, who elevated Matisse to the top of the canon, and their Hungarian connections. A new chapter in the research, as there is no publication on the subject even in Hungarian literature yet, is the exploration of the Hungarian collectors who purchased works by Matisse. The lecture will also discuss a number of lost paintings in abeyance, in the hope that some of these works might turn up.