Gallery Celebrates Gábor Szinte's 80th

Szinte was born into a Szekler family in Transylvania. He studied at the College of Fine Arts in Budapest from 1946 until 1952. Though he studied under such great painters as Aurél Bernáth, Róbert Berény and István Szőnyi, and could have taken the best Hungarian tradition in the field even further, he saw things differently than was generally accepted under the official view of art at the time. He left for Italy in 1956, and he earned a diploma in painting in Florence. He returned home afterward, but was excluded from the profession, as were many other artists, and not only painters. But then he found the theatre.

 

Szinte has become the docent of stage design, creating more than 100 sets for Budapest theatres. He made most of the sets for the Madách Theatre in its heyday in the 60s, while also designing for the Comedy Theatre of Budapest and the Thália Theatre. In the 70s, he started to teach his trade. He also became a well known art historian, publishing several books on Italian art. But the Forrás has focused on Szinte's painting.

 

In the paintings on display at the gallery, one sees a richly coloured, peaceful, almost melancholy atmosphere, strikingly void of people. There are Hargita and Gyimes in Transylvania, the harsh shadows of Sicily and the rooftops in Florence early in the morning; the blue of the sea contrasting with the yellow sun. There is movement in these pictures, a vibrating impressionist image.

 

Author: Eszter Götz