Lajos Tihanyi (Hungarian, 1885-1938). <em>The Critic</em>, 1916. Oil on canvas, 20 1/8 x 16 3/8 in. (51.1 x 41.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Right Reverend John Torok, D.D., 29.1302 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 29.1302_PS9.jpg)

Lajos Tihanyi (Hungarian, 1885-1938). The Critic, 1916. Oil on canvas, 20 1/8 x 16 3/8 in. (51.1 x 41.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Right Reverend John Torok, D.D., 29.1302 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 29.1302_PS9.jpg)

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This is a painting by Hungarian artist Lajos Tihanyi, as you may have read on the label the subject of the painting is Andor Halasi, a literary critic Tihanyi knew well. Interestingly the majority of his works were portraiture, though it is unclear how the artist may have communicated with sitters.

The artist was actually deaf and mute and was mostly self taught because of his hearing impairment. He was very inspired by Cubism which can be seen in fragmented planes of the critic’s face. His intensively psychological approach to painting, asserting the individual character of his subject, has led Tihanyi to be seen as a forerunner to Expressionism.

The Critic

Lajos Tihanyi

European Art

A self-taught artist, Tihanyi combined the fragmentation of Analytical Cubism and the psychological intensity of Expressionism in his portraits. This figure has been identified as a particular individual—Andor Halasi, a literary critic Tihanyi knew well—yet the sitter’s sharply rendered features almost suggest a physical type for the profession, with a high, intellectual forehead, alert eyes, long nose, and pinched mouth. Tihanyi emphasizes the sitter’s pronounced bone structure with a subtle play of light and shadow indicating sharp protrusions and deep hollows. The angular wings of the subject’s starched collar and the knot of his tie further echo his pointed features.

ARTIST Lajos Tihanyi, Hungarian, 1885-1938

MEDIUM Oil on canvas

Place Made: Hungary

DATES 1916

DIMENSIONS 20 1/8 x 16 3/8 in. (51.1 x 41.6 cm) frame: 27 3/8 × 23 1/4 in. (69.5 × 59.1 cm) (show scale)

SIGNATURE Signed and dated lower left: "Tihanyi L./1916"

COLLECTIONS European Art

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

EXHIBITIONS

About Time: 700 Years of European Paintings

ACCESSION NUMBER 29.1302

CREDIT LINE Gift of the Right Reverend John Torok, D.D.

RIGHTS STATEMENT No known copyright restrictions

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CAPTION Lajos Tihanyi (Hungarian, 1885-1938). The Critic, 1916. Oil on canvas, 20 1/8 x 16 3/8 in. (51.1 x 41.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Right Reverend John Torok, D.D., 29.1302 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 29.1302_PS9.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 29.1302_PS9.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2015

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

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