Background
Jozsef Rippl-Ronai was born on March 23, 1861, in Kaposvar, Hungary. He was the son of the school principal in the city.
Jozsef Rippl-Ronai was born on March 23, 1861, in Kaposvar, Hungary. He was the son of the school principal in the city.
After his studies at the High School in Kaposvar, he went to study in Budapest, where he obtained a degree in pharmacology.
In 1884 Jozsef travelled to Munich to study painting at the Academy. Two years later he obtained a grant which enabled him to move to Paris and study with Munkácsy, the most important Hungarian realist painter.
In 1888 Jozsef met the members of Les Nabis and under their influence he painted his first important work, The Inn at Pont-Aven, a deeply felt work notable for its dark atmosphere. His first big success was his painting My Grandmother (1894). He also painted a portrait of Hungarian pianist and composer Zdenka Ticharich (1921).
Later he returned to Hungary, where critical reception was at first lukewarm, but he eventually had a very successful exhibition entitled "Rippl-Ronai Impressions 1890-1900".
Jozsef became interested in design, which led to commissions such as the dining room and the entire furnishings of the Andrássy palace, and a stained-glass window in the Ernst Museum, (both in Budapest). Between 1911 and 1913 his exhibitions in Frankfurt, Munich and Vienna were highly successful. His last major work, a portrait of his friend Zorka, was painted in 1919, and in 1927 he died at his home, the Villa Róma in Kaposvar.
A Park at Night
Aunt Manci
Busy City Scene
Christmas
Lajos und Odon
Manor-House at Körtvélyes
Mansion at Geszt
Merse portrait
My Grandmother
Painting for the Schiffer Villa
Parisian Interior
Portrait of Lorinc Szabo
Portrait of Margit Piátsek
Profile of a Woman
Terka Linzer
Uncle Piacsek dresser in front of the black
Uncle Piacsek in front of the Black Sideboard
Woman in ink Dress and Black Collar
Woman With a Chinese Cup
Zorka Bányai in a Black Dress
He believed that for an artist not only is his body of work significant, but also his general modus vivendi, even including the clothes he wore.
In Paris Jozsef met a lady who was to be his future wife, Lazarine.