Czobel Bela A Festő Munka Közben, Kréta ,papír, 49x32cm 

"Czobel Bela A Festő Munka Közben," or “Bela Czobel the Painter at Work,” is a piece created by Bela Czobel with crayon on paper. Czobel was part of a generation of artists that came of age in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and then scattered themselves to the four winds in the wake of the two World Wars. Here we see the artist from the back, caught in the act of creation. With the barest of means, Czobel captures the almost painful concentration that is required of the artist. The scene is intimate. We have a privileged view, standing just behind the artist as he works. The quick, nervous lines speak to the urgency of the moment. Hungarian artists like Czobel, who had spent time in Paris, were often pulled in two directions – towards the avant-garde and back to a distinctly Hungarian past. This piece emphasizes the artist's individual act of creation while also gesturing to the rich artistic traditions that Czobel was a part of. In it we glimpse an artist deeply engaged in the struggle to create.