Endre Vadász

Endre Vadász (1901-1944), a Hungarian-Jewish painter and graphic artist, was born in Szeged, Hungary, to a bourgeois family. He studied in painting schools in Szeged, Italy, and Paris, and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest. In Paris, he developed an interest for Japanese woodcuts. Vadász participated in numerous exhibitions in Hungary and abroad, and he also won several prizes, including the first prize at the World Exhibition in Barcelona, in 1929.

Unfortunately, WWII brought many changes. Endre, who was interned in the Gödöllő labour camp, found out on June 3, 1944, that his wife was sent to the Budapest ghetto, so he committed suicide. The next day, when his wife was informed of her husband’s death, she committed suicide as well. Before his death, the artist left a message on a postcard, saying that he had to be buried together with his wife, which eventually happened.

During his artistic career, he mainly made linoleum engravings, illustrations, ex librises and etchings, which were also published in magazines. In addition, he painted tempera and oil paintings. Vadász was interested in the outside world, in reality, and in the human and natural environments. His art was spectacular, as it featured interesting, non-ordinary characters. His style was sometimes decorative and cheerful. However, with the approach of WWII, the anxiety and fear of death could be felt more and more in his works.