Adolf Fényes, originally Fischmann (29 April 1867 in
Kecskemét – 14 March 1945 in
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
) was a Hungarian painter of Jewish ancestry. He is best known for his cycle of paintings; ''The Life of a Poor Man'' and a series of
still-lifes, done as table settings.
Biography
His father, Simon Henrik Fischmann (1821–1879), was a
Rabbi
A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...
and his grandfather,
Israel ben Solomon Wahrmann, was the first officially recognized Rabbi of the Jewish community in
Pest. His uncle,
Moritz Wahrmann, was the first Jewish member of the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
. After his father's death, his family moved to Budapest and took the Hungarian name "Fényes".
He initially studied law, but abandoned that subject in favor of art. From 1884 to 1887, he studied at the
Royal Drawing School with
Bertalan Székely and
János Greguss. He then moved to
Weimar, where he studied with
Max Thedy from 1887 to 1890. The following year found him in Paris, studying with
William-Adolphe Bouguereau
William-Adolphe Bouguereau (; 30 November 1825 – 19 August 1905) was a French Academic art, academic painter. In his realistic genre paintings, he used mythological themes, making modern interpretations of Classicism, classical subjects, with a ...
at the
Académie Julian. From there, he returned to Weimar for two more years of study with Thedy. Upon returning home, he was enrolled in the master classes of
Gyula Benczúr from 1894 to 1898.
He spent the year 1900 travelling through Italy and France, then became one of the founders of the . From 1902, he spent every summer there. During the short-lived
Hungarian Soviet Republic, he served as a member of the "Artistic Executive Committee". In 1936, his health began to fail and he painted less.
In 1944, he received an exemption from the government of
Miklós Horthy and was able to continue painting. This respite was brief, however. When the
Arrow Cross Party took power, he was forced to enter the
Budapest Ghetto and barely survived the
Siege
A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...
. Two months later, he died. Sources differ as to whether he suffered a stroke and died in a hospital, or died from hunger, at home.
[↑ Szegő György: "A pesti mozi mint a profán gyülekezet temploma". ''Budapesti Negyed'', 200]
Online
/ref>
Streets have been named after him in Kecskemét, Szolnok and Budapest.
Selected paintings
File:Fényes Adolf - Testvérek (1906).jpg, Brother and Sister (1906)
File:Behavazott város.jpg, Snowy City
File:Fényes Adolf - 1910 - Flórián tér.jpg, (1910)
File:Fényes Adolf - ismeretlen - Áldozat.jpg, The Victim
File:Fényes Adolf - Babfejtők (1904).jpg, Bean Huskers (1904)
References
Further reading
Brief biography
@ Magyar életrajzi lexikon
More works and biographical notes
@ Terminartors
External links
More works by Fényes
@ ArtNet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fenyes, Adolf
1867 births
1945 deaths
People from Kecskemét
Jewish painters
19th-century Hungarian painters
20th-century Hungarian painters
Hungarian male painters
19th-century Hungarian male artists
20th-century Hungarian male artists
Painters from Austria-Hungary