Július Lörincz — The Shepherd

Július Lörincz was a painter, journalist and politician of Hungarian nationality. His work, characterized by expressive stylized torso-like figures, developed under the influence of Pablo Picasso, whom he also met in person. One of the highlights of his work were his paintings of the Budapest period of 1939-1945, in which he reacted to the wartime events of the Second World War. A significant role in this anti-war subject matter was played by the figure of the woman, who for him became a symbol of suffering (War Madonna, 1939; Wounded, 1939; The Fall of Paris, 1940; Mother Bending Over Child, 1943; Mother and Child, 1943). The motif of a woman, often with a child, runs throughout his work (Mother and Daughter I to III, 1973-1976; Mother and Son, 1976), without fundamentally changing the artist’s expressive handwriting. Some of Lörincz’s works from the 1970s were politically engaged, based on his leftist political beliefs and activities (February I, 1975-1976; February II, 1977-1978), a series of portraits of workers (Head of a Worker, 1966; Young Worker in a Hat; 1960-1970; Worker, 1970-1974).

A small tempera painting on paper entitled The Shepherd from 1954 stands out from the character of Lörincz’s work in its subject matter. In the author’s artistic programme we do not find folk motifs, which were so typical of Slovak modernism. In his case, the figure of the shepherd is more of a study of man and does not carry the symbolic references often associated with the rural environment in Slovak art. The figure is centrally situated against a neutral background, its face is anonymous and only the type of clothing connects it with the subject. The language of the painting, with its characteristic brush handwriting, corresponds to the typical painting work of the artist. The work was purchased for the collection of the Nitra Gallery in 1983.