NEHMA | Collection

Karoly Fulop

Hungarian/American
(1893–1963)

Betrothal
circa 1930

Wood, pigment, and ivory inlay
50.25 x 38 x 1.75 in.
Gift of the Marie Eccles Caine Foundation
2001.65

Karoly Fulop derived his inspiration from the Byzantine tradition. Born in Hungary, Fulop gained his greatest influence not from his formal studies in Budapest, Munich, and Paris, but from the medieval art housed in a Franciscan cathedral in the town of his birth, Szabadka. He felt so attuned to this art that he studied it for a time while living in a cathedral cell. Fulop began exhibiting in the United States before 1925, and in Los Angeles about 1930.

Betrothal features stylized, elongated religious figures composed in an elaborate scene. While works like this one reflect Fulop’s Hungarian Catholicism, one clearly senses a Byzantine influence in the ne craftsmanship, two-dimensional shapes, rich colors, and exquisite detailing.

Nancy Dustin Wall Moure, Adapted from her book Painting and Sculpture in Los Angeles, 1900–1945 (Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1980)

Keywords
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This object has the following keywords:

flower, people, relief*

flower
people
relief - Use to describe a surface that has been carved, molded, or stamped so that an image or design projects from or is sunk into a continuous surface.

Exhibition List

This object was included in the following exhibitions: