Description

Étienne Beöthy (István Beöthy), who spent his childhood years in Jászapáti, came into contact with art already then, spending a lot of time in the local studio of the painter Pál Vágó. However, his path led to the Budapest University of Technology, where he studied as an architect according to his father's wishes. Although he only "worn" the school bench for half a year, the period he spent at the university still defined his work and his passion for goldsmithing.
From 1919, he attended the workshops of Rónai Rippl and Márk Vedres, then continued his studies at the sculpture department of the College of Fine Arts. He was fired from there because of his opinion about art, so he switched to painting. He was tutored by János Vaszary, the greatest individual artist of his time, from whom he received many good advices.
Étienne Beöthy not only worked as a painter and sculptor, he also edited a magazine and was the founder of the international artist group called Abstraction-Création (1931-1936) in Paris. His theoretical writings are also significant (Aranysor, The Problem of Creation)
One of his works made in the spirit of constructivism is "Rythm 4". In his picture made with the gouache technique, we see a spectacular fusion of circles and circular elements. Intersecting, overlapping geometric forms meet according to the rules of the golden ratio. Bright and lighter-colored parts almost dance.
"Rythm 4" clearly shows Beöthy's commitment to constructivism and the perfect use of his set of forms.

(Fábian Takats)

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