Victor Vasarely 1906–1997 Modiano vintage poster
Caption Brief: Long before he became known as Victor Vasarely, one of the pioneers of Op Art, the artist worked under his birth name, Gyozo Vásárhelyi, producing Modernist posters and magazine covers as a student at Sándor Bortnyik's Budapest design school, Műhely. This early commercial work included commissions for Modiano, the Trieste-based rolling paper and playing card company founded in 1868 by Greek-born Jewish entrepreneur Saul David Modiano, whose sharp eye for design led him to hire a roster of top illustrators, Bortnyik included. Even after relocating to Paris in 1930 and adopting the name Vasarely, the artist kept working for Modiano back home under his original signature, making pieces like this a rare link to his pre-Parisian identity.
1933
49⅜ h × 37 w in (125 × 94 cm)
Athenaeum, Budapest
Provenance: Collection of William Crouse
Condition: Cond B+/A-: with overpainted edges, repaired tears, and touched-up fold lines.
Estimate
Time, Location
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Caption Brief: Long before he became known as Victor Vasarely, one of the pioneers of Op Art, the artist worked under his birth name, Gyozo Vásárhelyi, producing Modernist posters and magazine covers as a student at Sándor Bortnyik's Budapest design school, Műhely. This early commercial work included commissions for Modiano, the Trieste-based rolling paper and playing card company founded in 1868 by Greek-born Jewish entrepreneur Saul David Modiano, whose sharp eye for design led him to hire a roster of top illustrators, Bortnyik included. Even after relocating to Paris in 1930 and adopting the name Vasarely, the artist kept working for Modiano back home under his original signature, making pieces like this a rare link to his pre-Parisian identity.
1933
49⅜ h × 37 w in (125 × 94 cm)
Athenaeum, Budapest
Provenance: Collection of William Crouse
Condition: Cond B+/A-: with overpainted edges, repaired tears, and touched-up fold lines.
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
