Lajos Kassák *

(Ersekujvar 1887–1967 Budapest) Untitled, monogrammed, dated KL 22, oil on panel, 18 x 13 cm, framed, (PS)

Lajos Kassák was one of the leading exponents of the Hungarian avant-garde. His work was already shown before the First World War at the Galerie ‘Der Sturm’ in Berlin. In 1916 he founded the periodical ‘MA’ (‘Today’) in Budapest die, which by 1920 was based in Vienna rather than Hungary, publishing the work of artists, such as Kurt Schwitters, Alexander Archipenko and Laszlo Maholy-Nagy. Kassák’s work was substantially influenced by the Constructivists in the MA milieu in the early 1920s. With the aid of an elaborate composition made up of simple forms, such as a circle, square and a triangle, Kassák produced a harmonious balance of forms and colours using primary colours with black and white. The red square and black angle are overlaid by the white disc that is interacting with the pointed yellow angle, balancing the composition on the left-hand side.

Provenance: Private Collection, Germany

Specialist: Dr. Petra Maria Schäpers