Breznay József

Jozsef Breznay is considered the greatest Hungarian painter of the 20th century, awarded numerous times by the Hungarian state with the two most important prizes, the Munkacsy Prize and the Csók Prize. József Breznay was born in Budapest, Hungary, on September 20, 1916. From 1934 to 1939, he attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest, studying under Bertalan Karlovszky, Ágost Benkhard, Rezső Burghardt, and especially István Szőnyi, whom he assisted in 1938 and 1939. On the first day of the Academy, his teacher Karlovsky noticed his great talent, believing him to be one of the senior students due to the quality of his work.

After graduating, he won a scholarship for the Hungarian Academy in Rome for three consecutive years. By the 1940s, he was already an established painter with his own personal style. He received numerous national and international awards as well as a large number of commissions, including public ones. Over the seven decades of his artistic life, he visited almost every country in Europe for exhibitions in the continent's most important art galleries, receiving numerous accolades in art magazines and from influential art critics of the time.

Many private collectors in Italy, Germany, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Hungary have acquired numerous works by him over the years. His most well-known pieces are housed in Hungary's most important museums, such as the Hungarian National Gallery in Budapest, the Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest, and the Damjanich János Museum in Szolnok, Hungary.

He had three wives, Bonda Eugénia, Dr. Molnár Éva, Gánóczy Mária, and nine children: Lívia, József, Klára, Gábor, Mária, Sándor, Pál, András, and Márta.

Pro User

Major Solo Exhibitions

1946 Fókusz Galéria, Budapest, Hungary
1948 Művész Galéria, Budapest, Hungary
1953 Fényes Adolf Terem, Budapest, Hungary
1961 Csók Galéria (together with Ganóczy Mária), Budapest, Hungary
1962 Galerie Barbizon, Paris, France
1963 Galerie L'Indifferent, Lyon, France
1964 Malkasten Kunstverein, Düsseldorf, Germany
1965 Kunstkabinett, Hannover, Germany
1966 Künstlerkreis, Marburg, Germany
1969 Kunsthallen, Uppsala, Sweden
1970 Kunstverein, Lingen, Germany
1971 Galerie Pfeiffer, Brussels, Belgium
1971 Galerie Glaub, Cologne, Germany
1972 Galerie Orenje, Ghent, Belgium
1972 Galeria Glaub, Cologne, Germany
1973 Galleria Antelami, Parma, Italy
1974 Galleria l'Ascendente, Milan, Italy
1975 Würzburg, Germany
1977 Galleria Mariani, Parma, Italy
1977 Club Amici dell'Arte, Ferrara, Italy
1978 Galleria Romana, Milan, Italy
1979 Galleria Leonessa, Brescia, Italy
1981 Szőnyi Terem, Miskolc, Hungary
1982 Műcsarnok, Budapest, Hungary
1983 Galleria Sant'Andrea, Parma, Italy
1984 Gallery Park, Witten, Germany
1985 Hattingen, Germany
1988 Galerie am Gewölbe, Tübingen, Germany
1990 Galleria Sant'Andrea, Parma, Italy
1996 Collegium Budapest, Hungary
1997 Galerie Marceau, Paris, France
1997 Galleria Sant'Andrea, Parma, Italy
1998 Szőnyi István Múzeum, Zebegény, Hungary
2000 Galleria Duomo, Milan, Italy
2001 Librerie Feltinelli, Milan, Italy
2001 La Rotonde, Paris, France
2003 Galéria Mélange, Budapest, Hungary
2006 Olof Palme Millenniumi Szalon, Budapest, Hungary
2008 Galleria Antica Farmacia, Parma, Italy
2009 Vízivárosi Galéria, Budapest, Hungary

Major Group Exhibitions

1936 Műcsarnok, Budapest, Hungary
1940 Collegium Hungaricum, Rome, Italy
1941 Accademia d'Ungheria, Rome, Italy
1941 Hungarian Artists, Padua, Italy
1942 Salon Nationale Peintres Szinyei, Budapest, Hungary
1943 Salon Nationale Peintres, Budapest, Hungary
1945 Hungarian Painters, Budapest, Hungary
1947 Accademia d'Ungheria, Rome, Italy
1950 Műcsarnok, XI International Painting Exhibition, Budapest, Hungary
1957 Musée Municipal d'Art Moderne, XV. Salon Populiste, Paris, France
1958 Salon d'Automne, Istituto per la Cultura Internazionale, Paris, France
1960 71. Société des Artistes independants, Paris, France
1960 IV. Salon international de la peinture, Vichy, France
1960 XI. Salon international de la peinture, Deauville, France
1961 Musee Rath, Geneva, Switzerland
1961 Gallery Guggenheim, London, United Kingdom
1961 XII. Salon international de la peinture, Deauville, France
1964 80. Mostra Société des artistes indépendants, Paris, France
1964 80. Conseil Européen d'Art et Estéthique, Brussels, Belgium
1968 Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany
1971 XX. Biennale di pittura, Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, Italy
1971 IV. Mostra Internazionale di pittura, Szczecin, Poland
1975 Galleria dell'arte Il Crocicchio, Bologna, Italy
1975 Hungarian Painting Today, Berlin, Germany
1976 Salón Internacional de la pintura, Madrid, Spain
1977 Salon international de la peinture, Monte-Carlo
1978 Műcsarnok, Budapest, Hungary
1979 Société des Artistes independantes, Paris, France
1979 Exhibition in Tevel, Tengelic, Hungary
1980 85. Exhibition in Hatvan, Szeged, Hungary

Public Works

1939 Mezőkovácsháza, Hungary, fresco with the painter Eugénia Bonda
1954 House of Culture, fresco, Komló, Hungary
1965 Beloiannisz Factory, secco, Budapest, Hungary
1993 Berente Church, Hungary, fresco, with his sons Gábor Breznay and András Breznay

Public Collections

Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
Damjanich János Museum, Szolnok, Hungary
Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest, Hungary
Lingen Theater, Germany
Herend Porcelain Factory, Hungary
Mobile Museum of Art, Alabama, USA

Awards and Honors

1937 Rotary Club, Hungary
1939 Gold Medal, Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts, Hungary
1939, 1940, 1941, 1947 Scholarship for the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, Italy
1942 Pál Szinyei Merse Spring Salon, Nemes Marcell Prize, Hungary
1943 Pál Szinyei Merse Spring Salon, Wolfner Gyula Prize, Hungary
1953 Munkácsy Prize, Hungary
1958 Csók István Prize, Hungary
1962 Grand Prix Prize, nude category, France
1964 Conseil Européen d'Art et Estéthique Prize, France
1976 Knight of Labor Prize, Hungary
1978 Carrara dei Marmi Prize, Italy
1978 National Prize, Municipality of Medesano, Italy
1989 Bourbonne les Bains Prize, France
1999 Rockefeller Foundation Fellow, Bellagio, Italy
2010 Doyen Career Award, Ministry of Culture, Hungary

Bibliography

Aszalós Endre: "Breznay József." 1982, "Hungarian Art Today" series, Hungary
Who's Who in the World, Jozsef Breznay
Catalog 1982, Breznay József, Műcsarnok, Hungary
Catalog 1996, Breznay József, Evolution
Catalog 1997, József Breznay Retrospective Exhibition
Edition 2008, Works by Breznay József, private and public collections

Films, Documentaries

MTV 1 Television Channel: Vitray Tamás "Stories" ("Csak ülök és mesélek"): The Breznay Family, December 25, 1996
Hír TV Television Channel: "Family Tales" ("Családmese sorozat"): Vasarely, the Brush King, and the Breznay Family, November 25, 2005
Documentary, Ostoros Ágnes: "True Stories" ("A történetek igazak"): Documentary on the life of József Breznay, 1997. Preview at Bem Cinema, January 2008

YouTube

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