Biography
Gyula Derkovits was a Hungarian painter and graphic artist, one of the most important figures in Hungarian visual arts. He learned carpentry in his father's workshop. He started drawing at an early age, and was then taught to paint by a title painter. In World War I, his left arm was paralyzed. He lived in Budapest from 1916. In 1917, his drawings were exhibited in the editorial office of Ma. Then, at the suggestion of Márk Vedres, he learned painting and etching at Károly Kernstok's free school.
Between 1916 and 1918 he made mainly pencil and ink drawings. His paintings made in Nyergesújfalu during the Council Republic reflect the influence of Kernstok. In 1922, his first period as a painter ended with a collection exhibition in Belvedere. His works made in Vienna between 1923–26 show the influence of German expressionist painting. In 1925, he presented Refugees in Vienna. his painting, in 1927 he organized an exhibition at the Ernst Museum.
In 1928, he created the main work of his graphic work, the series of woodcuts entitled 1514, inspired by the Dózsa peasant uprising. Around 1931, he transferred his Dózsa series to etchings. His series of satirical ink drawings made in 1930 is a criticism of bourgeois society.
In the 1920s, Derkovits's art was associated with expressionism, but in the last years of his life he created a completely individual formal language for himself, a fine combination of strict image editing, lyrical colors and inspired depictions of people, with strong social criticism content.