Biography

Armand Schönberger was born in 1885 in Galgóc (city in Slovakia). He studied first in autodidactic way by copying the paintings of Munkácsy, than he continued his studies on the free-spirited evening nude-drawing courses at the Hungarian Academy of Fine Art. He studied at the free school led by Anton Ažbè, which was opposing to the academism, in Munich. After the death of Ažbe, from 1905 he studied at the official Academy in Munich, where his teachers were J. C. Herterich és P. Halm. In summer he attended the Baia Mare art school, where he spent almost every summer until 1912. In 1909 in Paris he met with Cézanne’s approach and with Delaunay's cubist-expressionist paintings, which had significant impact on the painter art. At the same place on the Grande Chaumière evening nude drawing lessons he continued to train himself. He was among those avant-garde artists, whom grouped around by the Lajos Kassák intellectual leadership formed journal, the ‘Tett’ in 1915 and the ‘Ma’ in 1916. In the period between the two world wars he supported the progressive aspirations but not kept next to the artist of ‘Ma’, who were forced to emigrate. He took part on the Belvedere exhibitions (it was established in the wake of Artists' House).

He mainly worked on expressive ink, chalk and charcoal drawings, in 1923 he participated with these works on the Belvedere exhibitions. He also took part on the New Society of Artists and New Association of Artists’ exhibitions, and he was core member of the Association of Fine Arts since its foundation. Cezanne, the cubists, the art of the German expressionists and the colors of the Fauves were influenced on him. His paintings, which were taken between the two world wars, present portraits and figure compositions and the scenes of urban life (cafes, concerts, cityscapes). In the 1960s, the intimate room corners and the harmony intermediary nudes were typical. Both his graphic and pictorial works he brought further the early avant-garde heritage.