He studied in Budapest, Weimar and Paris, then returned to Weimar, and finally, came back to Budapest. He first exhibited in 1895. After 1898 he spent the summers in Szolnok, from Autumn until the Spring he lived in Budapest. Among his early works the most famous are his one and two-figure compositions depicting poor people. During the first decades of the 20th century he turned towards more cheerful and colourful subjects; he painted genres and still-lifes. During and after the First World War Biblical themes became important in his art. Disheartened by the events of the Second World War he lived in seclusion and hardly worked at all.