István Réti (26 December 1872 – 17 January 1945) was a Hungarian painter, professor, art historian and leading member, as well as a founder and theoretician, of the Nagybánya artists' colony, located in what is present-day Baia Mare,

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. In addition, he served as president of the Hungarian University of Fine Arts (1927–1931) and (1932–1935). The artists' colony and its school were considered very influential in Hungarian and Romanian art; in 1966 the

Hungarian National Gallery The Hungarian National Gallery (also known as Magyar Nemzeti Galéria, ), was established in 1957 as the national art museum. It is located in Buda Castle in Budapest, Hungary. Its collections cover Hungarian art in all genres, including the w ...

had a major exhibition of their work: ''The Art of Nagybánya. Centennial Exhibition in Celebration of the Artists' Colony in Nagybánya.''Valerie Majoros, "Lajos Tihanyi and his friends in the Paris of the nineteen-thirties"
''French Cultural Studies'', 2000, Vol. 11:387, Sage Publications, accessed 30 January 2013

Early life and education

István Réti was born in Nagybánya,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

(today Baia Mare,

). In 1890 at the age of 18, he began his studies at the Budapest School of Drawing in 1890 but left after a month. In 1891 he went to

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, where he studied with

Simon Hollósy Simon Hollósy (2 February 1857 – 8 May 1918) was a Hungarian painter. He was considered one of the greatest Hungarian representatives of 19th-century Naturalism and Realism. Hollósy was not highly productive as an artist and was more im ...

, a young Hungarian painter who had established free classes, as he objected to the technical training at the more conservative Munich Academy. Réti met other young artists here who became part of his circle when they returned to Hungary. Later Réti also studied in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

at the

Académie Julian The () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907). The school was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number and qual ...

, to which many other painters were attracted from Hungary.

Career

Returning to Nagybánya, Réti painted his first significant work, ''Bohémek karácsonyestje idegenben'' (Christmas Night of the Bohemians Abroad) (1893). This nostalgic lamplit interior, typical of the period,"Réti, István"
Oxford Art Online was exhibited at the Palace of Art in Budapest and purchased by the state. In 1894 Réti travelled to

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, Italy. There he painted ''Kossuth Lajos a ravatalon'' ("

Lajos Kossuth Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva (; ; ; ; 19 September 1802 – 20 March 1894) was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, politician, statesman and governor-president of the Kingdom of Hungary during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, r ...

on His Bier"); the revolutionary had just died there."Réti István"
, Székely Museum, Ciuc Réti was attracted by the work of Jules Bastien-Lepage. During an 1895 trip to Paris, he learned about the work of

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (; 14 December 1824 – 24 October 1898) was a French painter known for his mural painting, who came to be known as "the painter for France". He became the co-founder and president of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Ar ...

. Together with János Thorma, Réti helped persuade Hollósy to move his school from Munich to Nagybánya. In 1896 Réti was one of the founders of the artists' colony there. Starting in 1902, he served as a professor at its free painting academy, and in 1911 he was one of the founders of the Nagybánya Painters' Association. Although Réti moved to

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 ...

in 1913 to teach at what is now the University of Fine Arts, he continued making improvements to the Nagybánya school during the summers. He taught summer classes there through 1927. From 1920 Réti worked to reform the University of Fine Arts according to Nagybánya principles, together with Károly Lyka. He served as its president from 1927–1931 and from 1932–1935. He retired in 1938. Réti spent the last decade of his life writing a history of the Nagybánya artists' colony. He died in Budapest.

Artistic work

In his first phase as a painter, Réti was chiefly interested in light and interiors, especially lamps or sunlight streaming through windows, as shown in ''Gyötrődés'' (Cacophony), 1894; ''Öregasszonyok'' (Old Women, 1900); and ''Kenyérszelés'' (Slicing the Bread, 1906). He did not adopt the ''

plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or plein-air painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting is c ...

'' landscape painting programme at Nagybánya. In 1899 he produced one of his best-known canvases, ''Honvédtemetés'' (Burial of a Hungarian Soldier), which referred to the 1848 revolution; the unity of the landscape and people is bound together by the grey of the dusk. From 1904–07 (the last two years working in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

), Réti painted several versions of ''Krisztus apostolok között'' (Christ with the Apostles), his most significant religious work. After 1910 he created several decorative paintings, such as ''Cigánylány'' (The Gypsy Girl, 1912), and many portraits and self-portraits, including one of

in 1931. In his later years, Réti worked relatively slowly, taking long breaks between paintings and undertaking theoretical preparation for each new one. His oeuvre from this period is considered inconsistent. As he concentrated on teaching, his works diminished in both quality and quantity. From an early age, Réti was preoccupied by contemporary questions of artistic theory, which he also tried to explore as a professor. After 1920, particularly, he wrote more articles on these subjects."Réti, István"
Fine Arts in Hungary Scholars consider his writings on aesthetics, influenced by

Benedetto Croce Benedetto Croce, ( , ; 25 February 1866 – 20 November 1952) was an Italian idealist philosopher, historian, and politician who wrote on numerous topics, including philosophy, history, historiography, and aesthetics. A Cultural liberalism, poli ...

and

Henri Bergson Henri-Louis Bergson (; ; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopher who was influential in the traditions of analytic philosophy and continental philosophy, especially during the first half of the 20th century until the S ...

, to have had a more profound effect on other artists than did his painting or teaching activities.

Exhibits

*2009
''Munich in Hungarian, Hungarian Artists in Munich 1850–1914, 2 Oct. 2009 – Jan. 2010''

Legacy and honors

*1966, ''The Art of Nagybánya. Centennial Exhibition in Celebration of the Artists' Colony in Nagybánya,''

Works

File:Bohemians Christmas Abroad, 1893.jpg, ''Christmas Night of the Bohemians Abroad'' (1893) File:Old women, 1900.jpg, ''Old Women'' (1900) File:Slicing the bread, 1918.jpg, ''Slicing the Bread'' (1906) File:Gypsy girl, 1912.jpg, ''Gypsy Girl'' (1912)

Notes

External links

Works by István Réti
Fine Art of Hungary {{DEFAULTSORT:Reti, Istvan 1872 births 1945 deaths People from Baia Mare Hungarian art historians Academic staff of the Hungarian University of Fine Arts 20th-century Hungarian painters Hungarian male painters 20th-century Hungarian male artists Painters from Austria-Hungary