Lady in red

The outstanding artist of Hungarian post-impressionism, József Rippl-Rónai (1861–1927) was active as a member of the Nabis [Prophets] during his stay in Paris in the last decade of the 19th century. Within the frames of synthetic symbolism, the group endeavoured to give equal weight to all groups of decorative art objects which they could best present in an interior unifying the work of several artists. In this spirit did Rippl-Ronai get down to design the dining room furnishing of count Tivadar Andrássy’s (1857–1905) Buda palace. The furniture was manufactured by Endre Thék’s (1842–1919) workshop, the ceramics by the Zsolnay factory, the glass windows by Miksa Róth (1865–1944), the glass objects by the Wiesbaden glass factory. From the textile decoration – embroidered frieze, foldingscreen, door hanging and tapestry – only the tapestry, a peak of Hungarian Art Nouveau textile art hung above the mantelpiece survived World War II. In the middle, the woman in the red dress turns partly away from the viewer. There is a tiny flower in one hand, and the other hand is stretched behind her with the typical gesture of Japanese prints. The figure and the vegetation are surrounded by dark brown outlines. The predominant colours are various shades of red and green. The serene and rich colour scheme and patch-like planar presentation radiate the calm of decorativeness. In the lower left corner it is signed “Ronai 1898”. The tapestry was embroidered by the French wife of the artist, Lazarine Boudrion. Rippl-Ronai’s study drawing for the tapestry, "Woman holding a rose" is held by the Hungarian National Gallery.