Jean TOTH (Hungary 1900 - Paris 1967). - Lot 6

Jean TOTH (Hungary 1900 - Paris 1967). Pencil drawing on paper signed lower right, addressed to Simone Pitavino, 1948. 21.5 x 31.5 cm. Note: Jean TOTH moved to Paris in 1921. He frequented La Grande-Chaumière in the Montparnasse district, where he rubbed shoulders with Antoine Bourdelle and Roger Bissière. In the first half of the twentieth century, he became famous for his drawings and watercolors of dance, a source of inspiration throughout his life, notably for a series produced for the Opéra Garnier in the 1930s. In 1939, he enlisted in the French Foreign Legion. Demobilized in 1940, he spent the first years of the war in Roanne, returning to Paris in 1943. After the war, he continued to work as a dance painter in his rue Vercingétorix studio, and also collaborated with various artists, including porcelain decorator Camille Le Tallec. Jean Toth's work can be found in numerous French and foreign collections. The Paris Opera bought nearly 250 drawings and paintings from him for its library, and paid him a post-mortem tribute.