STEFÁN, Henrik
(1896, Máriakéménd - 1971, Amersee)



He graduated from secondary school in Pécs. He got an art teacher's degree from the Academy of Fine Arts. He was a member of the fine art section of the Modern Circle of Artists, Pécs, established in 1920; he was a representative of expressive naturalism, which followed Péter Dobrovics's activist style. At the end of 1920 he organised an atelier exhibition jointly with Johan Hugo; in March 1921 he was present with his portraits at the Circle of Artists' exhibition in Pécs. In April 1921 he travelled on a study trip to Italy with Farkas Molnár and Johan Hugo, and they applied for Bauhaus together. In the autumn of 1921 he began his studies on Johannes Itten's preparatory course. On the basis of their drawings made in Italy they compiled the Italian Portfolio together with Farkas Molnár in the graphic studio in the period between 1921 and 1922. In 1922 he took part in the courses of Dutch constructivist Theo van Doesburg De Stijl, who worked in Weimar. Stefán also worked in the stone-sculpting workshop. He was one of the of followers of the KURI group and a signer of the manifesto initiated by Farkas Molnár. In the autumn of 1922 he returned to Hungary. He opened a modern furniture workshop in Törökbálint.

From 1925 to 1928 he studied at the Bauhaus again. In 1928 he lived in Bavaria. After 1929 he returned to Pécs. He changed his name from Stefán to the Hungarian Szelle. He designed relieves, frescoes and glass windows. He complied with church commissions in Pécs (Augustinian Church, the crypt of the Saint Michael cemetery-chapel, Pauline Church and Monastery, the devotional church of Máriakéménd). At the same time, he also painted landscapes and folk-anecdotal themes (1935-1940). At the painting of the frescoes in Szeged and Pannonhalma he accompanied Vilmos Aba-Novák. In 1941 he worked with Farkas Molnár again. After 1945 he fled the expatriation of the Germans and left with his family for Germany. He was employed as a teacher in Wiedenbrück in 1946 and in Gelsenkirchen-Buer from 1950. He made portraits and religious pictures. In addition, he repainted the variants of his Italian town-pictures.



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