214 - Barna BASILIDES (Tornal’a 1903 – Budapest 1963)

Barna BASILIDES (Tornal’a 1903 – Budapest 1963) The Shepherds Painted in 1935 Oil on panel 100 x 180.5 cm Signed and dated lower right “Basilides Barna 1935” On the back of the panel, a label reading “M Kir Külkereskedelmi Hivatal. Inventory No. 3061 - 1936)" Barna Basilides was born on March 3, 1903, in Tornalja (now in Slovakia). Barna Basilides was a painter, graphic artist, and renowned master of tapestry art. In 1920, he began studying graphic design at the Hungarian National School of Applied Arts. A year later, he was admitted to the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied under the painters Gyula Rudnay and István Bosznay. He graduated in 1925. From that year onward, he undertook several study trips to Italy, Paris, Vienna, and Prague. He co-founded the Society of Spiritual Artists. Beginning in 1929, he regularly participated in exhibitions organized by the KÉVE group. He was invited to Geneva in 1935 to design a tapestry for the Palais des Nations. He received a scholarship and returned to Italy in 1939. In 1940–1941, he was a fellow at the Collegium Hungaricum in Rome. He later became artistic director of the “Műbarát” (“Friend of the Arts”) gallery and an active member of the Szolnok artists’ colony. His artistic career reached its peak in the 1940s. Most of his works from this period were commissioned by foreign clients. Barna Basilides is best known for his landscapes and scenes celebrating Hungarian folklore. He died in Budapest on February 12, 1967.