The contextualizes the presence of works by three Hungarian artists in the collection of the Société Anonyme: László Moholy-Nagy, Sándor Bortnyik and László Péri. It is known how important was for Katherine S. Dreier the visit in Berlin in October 1922, where she could see the “Erste russische Kunstausstellung” at the Galerie van Diemen. By 1922 Berlin was also the meeting point for many international artists who believed in the so-called International Constructivism, an internationally oriented movement based on geometric abstraction. Like Dreier, these large group of international artists was convinced that art was a “universal language” that could take toward a “new era”. Even if the project of a large international movement did not succeed, through the publications in magazines International Constructivism settled a different critical viewpoint essential to present abstraction as an international language. Some of these artists, coming from Hungary and known as the “MA” circle, had the chance of exhibiting at Galerie Der Sturm in 1922 (Sándor Bortnyik, László Moholy-Nagy and László Péri). They were soon chosen by Katherine S. Dreier for the Société Anonyme collection and, by 1923, she already organized exhibitions on Bortnyik and Péri. Through these case studies the paper seeks to demonstrate the connections between Dreier and the International Constructivism critical viewpoint on modern international abstract art and its influence in the early formation of the Société Anonyme collection.
Carlotta Castellani, The Hungarian MA Circle in the Société Anonyme Collection: Sándor Bortnyik, László Moholy-Nagy, and László Péri, "Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin 2020–2021. The Société Anonyme at 100", 2020/2021
Carlotta Castellani
Writing – Original Draft Preparation
2021
Abstract
The contextualizes the presence of works by three Hungarian artists in the collection of the Société Anonyme: László Moholy-Nagy, Sándor Bortnyik and László Péri. It is known how important was for Katherine S. Dreier the visit in Berlin in October 1922, where she could see the “Erste russische Kunstausstellung” at the Galerie van Diemen. By 1922 Berlin was also the meeting point for many international artists who believed in the so-called International Constructivism, an internationally oriented movement based on geometric abstraction. Like Dreier, these large group of international artists was convinced that art was a “universal language” that could take toward a “new era”. Even if the project of a large international movement did not succeed, through the publications in magazines International Constructivism settled a different critical viewpoint essential to present abstraction as an international language. Some of these artists, coming from Hungary and known as the “MA” circle, had the chance of exhibiting at Galerie Der Sturm in 1922 (Sándor Bortnyik, László Moholy-Nagy and László Péri). They were soon chosen by Katherine S. Dreier for the Société Anonyme collection and, by 1923, she already organized exhibitions on Bortnyik and Péri. Through these case studies the paper seeks to demonstrate the connections between Dreier and the International Constructivism critical viewpoint on modern international abstract art and its influence in the early formation of the Société Anonyme collection.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
