István Szőnyi (1894 - 1960): Zebegény self-portrait, etching, collector's rarity

István Szőnyi (1894 - 1960): Zebegény self-portrait, etching, paper, marked, in a glazed frame, around 1958. Signed j.L: istván szőnyi, j.B.L. Self portrait. Graphic/etching size: 14x31 cm, carrier/paper size: 28.5 x 42 cm. The graphics are in good condition as shown in the pictures, protected by membrane paper.

István Szőny (Újpest, 1894 - Zebegény, 1960) was admitted to the Budapest College of Fine Arts in 1913, his first teacher was Károly Ferenczy, who introduced him to the Nagybánya circle. He served in the military during the First World War and spent his summer vacations at the mine. Because he sympathized with the Soviet Republic, he had to leave the college in 1920 and became an increasingly frequent guest of the Kecskemét artists' association.

The watershed of his life was 1923, when he moved to Zebegény. The landscape, rural life, undisturbed nature made a deep impression on the artist, and it was then that he created the picture Zebegény funeral, Zebegény evening, the snow-covered village. In 1929, he was one of the first scholarship recipients of the Hungarian Academy in Rome to go to Italy, but after a few months he returned home, preferring to live in a poor country instead of the Italian landscape. Here he found the world in which he could develop his own style thanks to the inspiring power of the landscape. In 1920, he got acquainted with copper engraving, and in a short time he also became an excellent master of gravure graphics.

He received several monumental commissions, and his study on drawing and painting techniques was published. His work was recognized with numerous awards: in 1941 he received the Corvin wreath, in 1949 he received the Kossuth prize, in 1952 he became a meritorious artist, and in 1956 he became an excellent artist. His bust stands in Budapest's Markó Street, Zebegény's studio is a memorial museum, where a free school is organized in the summer. His memorial museum was opened in 1967 in Zebegény.