(Kaposvar 1861–1927)
After bathing, signed, dated Ronai (retraced) 1894, chalk pastels on paper, 60.7 x 49 cm, framed, (PS)

Provenance:
Galerie Kieselbach, Budapest
Private Collection, Germany

During the 1890s Rippl-Rónai perfected his graphic skills and consistently adopted a limited colour palette. He turned to the art of the Pre-Raphaelites, almost simultaneously becoming acquainted with Les Nabis at the Salon de Champs de Mars. Under their influence Rippl-Rónai altered the concept of his artistic work. The pastel here unifies the variety of influences which the young Hungarian met in Paris. The reduction to a few strong colours and the omission of everyday, naturalistic representations, as in the cloths which are shown merely as strips of colour, are some of the nods to the work of Les Nabis. Shown in profile or from behind, Rippl-Rónai presents his models less as portraits of actual female figures, but uses sfumato to dissolve their contours, swapping their individuality for abstract representation. In his works dating to the mid-1890s, Rippl-Rónai has understood how to create his own completely individual style, one which leans towards abstraction and is characterised by a reduction to the key figurative elements.

‘He is an unquiet spirit, he interprets people and objects with infinite empathy, he is a sensitive analyst of the soul and an outstanding colourist.’
(Ausstellungskritik von 1892, in: Ausst.Kat. Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Ein Ungar in Paris – Jozef Rippl–Ronai 1861-1927, Heidelberg 1999, S. 100)