4442 - Endre Komáromi-Kacz, Girl with a Violin

Endre Komáromi-Kacz, Girl with a Violin In a parlour, a young woman with a violin sits by a cradle containing a sleeping infant; she has paused her playing to gaze at the newborn. The child is positioned behind an open curtain, as in a Baroque portrait of a ruler; in the foreground, several cloths and a small doll lie on the floor; in front of the sleeping child is a small side table with several glasses; a poetic, glazed genre painting, typical of the artist, who had a particular fondness for depicting young female musicians with instruments; oil on canvas, signed lower left; on the reverse, a customs stamp on the canvas that is indistinct (presumably a Hungarian customs stamp); another indistinct stamp on the canvas (the place name ‘Budapest’ is legible); on the frame, a stamp with an old ownership inscription; in need of restoration, retouching, gold frame, dented, inner dimensions 81 x 60 cm. Artist information: real name Endre Kacx, also known as Andreas Komaromi-Kacz, Hungarian portrait and genre painter as well as musician (1880, Komárom [German: Komoron] - 1969, Balatonalmadi), studied at the Budapest Academy under Ede Balló, continued his training at Simon Hollósy’s private painting school in Munich and, together with him, spent time in the artists’ colony of Nagybánya [today: Baia Mare, German: Frauenbach or Groß-Neustadt], and finally, from 1903 to 1907, was a master student of Gyula Benczúr in Budapest; undertook a study trip to Belgium and the Netherlands on a government scholarship, began exhibiting from 1910, including at the Budapest National Salon with genre paintings; worked in Budapest and, towards the end of his life, made regular stays in Balatonalmadi on Lake Balaton; Source: Thieme-Becker, Vollmer, Saur ‘Bio-Bibliographical Artists’ Lexicon’ and the internet.