Albert Bertalan
From the late 19th century until World War Two, Paris was the center of the art world. Artists
and intellectuals from around the globe descended on Paris, drawn by the atmosphere of creative
freedom established by the French Impressionists. Because of the Impressionists’ innovations the
direction of art had changed forever, the times were ripe for another Renaissance. The School of
Paris, as this broad based group of artists are referred to embodied the spirit of modernism.
Albert Bertalan was born on September 21, 1899 in Jaszbereny, Hungary. He is known for painting
compositions of figures in unique environments, including women by the sea, among other
similar subject matters. He studied at the Nagybanyai Art School under some of the most important
Hungarian artists, including Ivànyi Grünwald, Adolf Fényes, and Istàn Réti. He received
a solo exhibition in Nuremberg and exhibited regularly at the Budapest Gallery of Pal Lazlo.
In 1924 he moved to Paris where he had his first exhibition in 1925. His Parisian Salon exhibitions
include portrait entries in the Salon des Indépendants in 1926 and 1930, at the Salon d’Automne
in 1926, and at the Salon des Tuileries in 1930. In 1928 he won the Szinyei prize.
His paintings while in Paris were very expressionistic having incorporated composition, brush
technique and a unique vision, all of which now make his work very identifiable. His work
develops through numerous distinctive phases: Impressionistic, Cezannian, Matissean, Cubistic
and Modernist.