Lajos Vajda (Hungarian: Vajda Lajos; 1908, Zalaegerszeg – 1941, Budakeszi) was a Hungarian painter and graphic artist. From 1927 to 1930 he was a student of István Csók at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts.
Vajda stayed in Paris between 1930 and 1934 and, in addition to the most recent trends in French painting, he also got acquainted with the outstanding works of the Russian Realist film. This prompted him to create his dramatic photo-montages of the great cataclysms of mankind, war, hunger, armed violence and abject misery. From 1934 onwards, he collected folk art motifs in Szentendre and Szigetmonostor. In his style, folk art and Orthodox Christian, Roman Catholic and Jewish symbols were combined with abstract and surrealistic elements. His last abstract surrealistic drawings foreshadow the horrors of World War II. He died of tuberculosis in 1941.
Chronology
Source:The source of these biographical data is: Pataki, 2009, pp. 77-78. & Júlia Vajda: Biographical Notes on Lajos Vajda, Budapest, 1943; published in Mándy, 1984. pp. 169–175 1908 Lajos Vajda was born into a Jewish family on 6 August 1908 in the town of Zalaegerszeg, Hungary. His father, Emánuel Vajda, was a court clerk at the local county court. His mother was Judit Fürst. "She was a religious woman. Under her influence, the family kept the Jewish festivals and lit a candle on Friday evenings.Petőcz, 2009, p. 19 ( Gyula Kozák: Chronology of the Life of Lajos Vajda) Lajos Vajda had three siblings: Miklós, Teréz and Márton. All of Lajos Vajda's siblings were murdered in the Holocaust. "Lajos Vajda started to draw regularly at the age of five. He made illustrations to tales by copying sample drawings. Later on, he magnified the original reproductions relying on a precise and disciplined technique."Júlia Vajda: Biographical Notes on Lajos Vajda, Budapest, 1943; published in Mándy, 1984. p. 169 In his first drawings there are warships, battle signs, and later he captured his surroundings and family members. 1916 The family moved to Serbia, which was at that time under Austrian military occupation. In Belgrade Vajda went to a Serbian school, then to a German school. In a letter written to his lover and future wife, Júlia Richter he writes as follows: „You think I don’t know German. The truth is that I also learnt German for two years (classes three and four) in Belgrade, at the Austrian elementary school called K.u.K. Guvermentalschule Belgrade, Kraljica Natlia ulica.”.Letter dated 14 September 1936 published in Mándy, 1984. pp. 169 Later on the family settled in Valjevo, a town in western Serbia. „The family was living in abject poverty for six years first in Belgrade, then in Valjevo. Lajos went to a German elementary school in classes three and four in Belgrade, in the Austrian school. He went to secondary school in Serbia. He was an excellent student especially interested in History and Geography. It was in Serbia that he got acquainted with Pravoslav churches. At that time, he made portraits and drew after models. His teachers and art lovers predicted a great future for the boy. 1917 His first known drawings were produced. 1922-1924 The family moved back to Hungary. The talented young artist received encouragement from his teachers and studied at the Budapest open drawing school of OMIKE (the Hungarian Jewish Educational Association) under the tutelage of Lipót Herman. His uncle, Mihály Vajda became an important figure in Vajda’s life. Mihály Vajda was a journalist, and for some years he was the Paris correspondent of his paper. It was in his uncle’s library that Lajos Vajda developed a keen interest in art.
1923 Vajda's parents and her sister returned to Hungary. First, they lived in Zalaegerszeg, then in the town of Szentendre that, due to its proximity to Budapest and its location on the Danube, was a favourite holiday destination. At the end of the 17th century, Serbs fleeing from the Turks came to this town and built „seven Pravoslav churches that up to the present day determine the image of this town on the Danube. The Pravoslav church icons conjured up in Vajda early childhood memories, and their atmosphere had a great influence on Vajda’s artistic world.”Mándy, 1964, p. 10 The unique architecture of Szentendre fascinated the artist. „The whole being and soul of the artist was closely associated with this town. Vajda regarded Szentendre as his town." 1925–26 "At the age of seventeen, one day he walked very far from his home to paint, got caught in a thunderstorm, came home soaked to the skin and didn’t change. He then fell seriously ill and was taken to hospital shortly thereafter, where he was treated for six months." Vajda fell ill with bone tuberculosis and had to be operated on seven times. 1927 "Soon after this, in 1927 his mother, whom Lajos loved dearly, died. He mourned her until the end of his life."Júlia Vajda: Biographical Notes in Mándy, 1984. p. 170 He spent the summer in Valjevo at his brother, Miklós. "In the autumn – against his father's will but with his sister's support – he takes the entrance examination for the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. He is granted a place there, becoming a pupil of István Csók."Petőcz, 2009, p.21. ( Gyula Kozák: The Chronology of the Life of Lajos Vajda 1928 Vajda enrolled at the Royal Hungarian Academy of Arts, becoming a pupil of István Csók. At the Academy he made friends with Dezső Korniss, György Kepes, Sándor Trauner and Béla Hegedüs. Together they started visiting the events of the Munka circle, an avant-garde grouping headed by Lajos Kassák. "In terms of their world view, they were socialists, artistically, they were the followers of constructivism.” Vajda participated in the exhibition of the academy students. The works shown there provoked the harsh criticism of conservative artists and art lovers. 1929 In May, at the initiative of conservative faculty members, who were dissatisfied with István Csók and János Vaszary, the State Control Committee carried out an investigation at the Academy, and Lajos Vajda, Dezső Korniss, György Kepes, Sándor Trauner were expelled from the college. Vajda took part in the exhibition of KÚT that took place in the National Salon. KÚT (New Association of Visual Artists) was a group of young artists that advocated modern trends in art. 1930 Vajda took part in the exhibition of the New Progressive Artists at the Tamás Gallery. In autumn, he travelled to Paris, and he lived there until the spring of 1934. He stayed at an inexpensive hotel of the Latin Quarter of Paris. He met the philosopher, Lajos Szabó who had a great influence on his artistic approach. Influenced by Sergei Eisenstein and Vsevolod Pudovkin and realizing that there is no chance for him to make films, he started to make photo montages. „His financial circumstances were so bad that he could only sustain himself with a poor diet, and there was even a time when he ate nothing for a few days and lay in bed with weakness. / He, like so many people, took various odd jobs to exist. (...) His two favourite museums were the anthropology museum, Musée de l'Homme and the Musée Guimet.Júlia Vajda: Biographical Notes in Mándy, 1984. p. 171 "He did not try to have success by acquiring some fashionable methods of paintings thus becoming a part of the art scene and accepted by art dealers.Pataki, 2009, p. 16 1934 Physically worn out, but artistically rejuvenated and prepared, he returned to Hungary. Hard years were coming. Vajda could not count on official support because of his Jewish origins and artistic creed. 1935 In the summer he and his closest friend, Dezső Korniss started to draw the motifs of both Szentendre and of the nearby villages. In the autumn of 1935, at the students' canteen of the National Hungarian Jewish Cultural Association, Vajda met Júlia Richer, a Hungarian Jewish girl from Bratislava, who was studying at the College Applied Art.Petőcz, 2009, pp. 22–23 (Gyula Kozák: Chronology of the Life of Lajos Vajda) 1935–36 In cooperation with his painter friend, Dezső Korniss he worked out a new artistic approach whose objective was to create a new East-Central European art style that could be a bridge between East and West, and between the Byzantian and pre-classic tradition on the one hand and the avant-garde tradition on the other. 1936 He submitted a painting:File:Vajda Self-portrait with Icon 1936.jpg to the exhibition of KÚT (The New Society of Visual Artists). “But the jury rejected it pointing out that the work reveals the talent of its creator, but it lacks maturity.”Júlia Vajda: Biographical Notes Mándy, 1984. p. 173 1937 In the autumn Vajda's first studio exhibition takes place in the studio flat of Imre Ámos, Margit Anna. "After many years abroad, Ernő Kállai who just got home was glad to see that he can see genuinely modern endeavours also in Hungary.”Mándy, 1984, pp. 14–15 1937-38 His father stopped giving material support that, until then, had ensured him his livelihood. He worked in the trick film studio of Gyula Macskássy. He made 30 pengős a month as a phase drawer. 1938. On 9 January he married Júlia Richter. 1940 The painter’s second studio exhibition took place in the studio flat of Piroska Szántó and Gusztáv Seiden.Mándy, 1984, 15. o. In September Vajda was called up for labor service, the alternative military service required of "politically unreliable" Hungarian-Jewish men in Hungary during the war. Due to his poor health, however, he was released from labour service after three weeks. „He was admitted to St. John's Hospital. He stayed there for eight months. (…) Five days before his death, he told me he would not stay in the hospital anymore, not even for a minute, so I should take him "home" to my rented apartment. His doctor told me that I could take Lajos home, as he is a moribund patient. I should only take care of myself. (…) The people in this house were very angry with me for bringing a dying man into the apartment. I called the Budakeszi Sanatorium. The ambulance took us there. It was Saturday morning.Júlia Vajda: Biographical Notes in Mándy, 1984. p. 175 1941 Lajos Vajda died on September 7 at the Lung Sanatorium in the village of Budakeszi near Budapest. "The next morning, when I went up to the first floor, the Sunday mass was taking place on the ground floor, I asked Lajos if he would like to listen. "If I could hear the same thing well, yes," he replied. He hardly said anything all day. He no longer clung to the living, he spoke of his mother. He died very quietly."Júlia Vajda: Biographical Notes on Lajos Vajda, Budapest, 1943, in Mándy, 1984. pp. 175 1943 Ernő Kállai organizes Lajos Vajda's memorial exhibition in the Alkotás Art House. 1946 Elected honorary member of the European School 1948–69 The official art policy ignored Vajda. His oeuvre was preserved by Júlia Vajda for almost two decades. 1969 The King St. Stephen Museum of Székesfehérvár, Hungary organized Vajda's first museum exhibition. 1986 The Vajda Museum opened in Szentendre with 100 works by the artist.Petőcz, 2009, p. 226.
Artistic periods Source:Mándy, 1983, p. 139
Photomontages (1930–1933)
In this period Vajda regards film to be the most appropriate artistic genre for expressing new endeavors. He recognises the crucial role of modern film. (…) A film director who creates meaning in random events is capable of creating a new artistic worldview. This is the way Vajda approaches surrealism as a technique of creation. The photomontages made in Paris and later the stream of multi-layered drawing montages, collages and other compositions illustrate his artistic conviction: the problems of painting can be solved through ideas coming from the world of film.Mándy, 1964, p. 11