MÁRFFY, Ödön
(1878, Budapest - 1959, Budapest)

Composition with Nudes

c. 1910
Oil on canvas, 79,5 x 98,5 cm
Janus Pannonius Museum, Pécs

After a short detour in Munich, Márffy arrived in Paris where he was particularly impressed by Cézanne's and Van Gogh's art. He met Lajos Fülep, György Bölöni and Károly Kernstock in Paris, so he arrived at the Eights, a group of progressive artists.

After his return to Hungary, Kernstock visited Márffy in his home in Nyergesújfalu when he painted "Composition with Nudes'. Four nudes are depicted in the open air. The woman on the left is crossing her legs, she is leaning the head on the right hand and the elbow is resting on the left knee. The second woman is standing in the foreground of the picture, facing the viewer, there is a drape in her folded hands: it reaches down to the ground. The third woman is stretching out the legs, she is lying, and leaning on the right elbow, while the forth woman is standing somewhat more in the background, she is facing the viewer and raising the left arm over the head. The bodies are standing in a counterpoised pose, they are longish and expressive. The plasticity of the bodies is highlighted with blue contours. The plane and space of the picture are interwoven by rhythm: its carrier is colour. The inner logics of colours clinging to one another constitute the main structure of the picture. Contrasting colours produce a harmony in the end while the rhythm of art nouveau lines is also present. Blue, purple and yellow patches of earth, water and trees are reflected on the bodies. The three colours on the water in the middle of the picture appear on figures in the foreground, too. The dominating colours on the rest of the figures are blue, yellow and green. The tree trunk is glowing in deep blue.


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