Reading (1925)

After graduating from the National School of Drawing, Tibor Pólya returned to his hometown of Szolnok, where he studied with Adolf Fényes, following the path of the Hungarian national tradition, and later became a central figure of the Szolnok Artists' Colony. He visited Munich, where Franz von Stuck was his master. In 1909 he visited Paris, which Pólya described as follows: 'During my stay in Paris, I must dispense with warm remembrances of myself, for I did not seek virtues in my studies, but rather in the frivolous world of Paris, where I spent my nights in daylight.' Pólya, too, was sucked into Paris's bustling, nocturnal, bohemian life. He was taught in Paris by the Swiss-born Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, who illustrated the magazines Gil Blas and later le Chambard. His subjects were about the everyday life of the common man, and it was this that was the source of his success. They spent evenings together with Aristide Bruant, whose books he illustrated, and Toulouse-Lautrec at Le Chat Noir in Montmartre. Pólya was also present at the Salon des Indépendants and later at the Salon d'Automne. In 1910, he participated in the foundation of the Kecskemét Artists' Association, and his first serious painting works originate from there. In 1910 he participated in the foundation of the Kecskemét Artists' Colony together with Béla Iványi Grünwald and his brother Iván Pólya. His first serious painting works originate from here. In the 1920s, his illustrations appeared in the Vasárnapi Újság newspaper, which made him known throughout the country. In 1919 he was one of the founders of the Merse Pál Szinyei Society. He was also active in poster art, his Törley and Modiano graphics were reproduced several times, and he appeared as an illustrator in Az Est, Magyarság, Új Nemzedék and Virradat. He was a scholarship holder at the Collegium Hungaricum in Rome. In 1929, he had a collection exhibition at the Fészek Club, and after his death, a retrospective exhibition of his works was held at the Ernst Museum (1938). 

Tibor Pólya experimented in numerous genres: painter, graphic artist, illustrator, caricaturist, landscape painter His early period was defined by neo-impressionism. Most closely related to the art of Pál Jávor. His later paintings are characterised by his genre paintings of Hungarian folk life, which earned him the name 'Hungarian Bruegel', and by his humorous, more expressive paintings, influenced by Vilmos Aba-Novák. His graphic works are characterised by simple lines and essential depictions, but his figures are also charming and drawn with great love. He is best known for his caricatures. He was a regular illustrator of the works of many writers, such as Gyula Krúdy and Frigyes Karinthy. 

In his gouache painting Reading, Pólya uses a trick common in silent films of the period, where the camera's optics depict what is seen in a manner similar to a telescope (a circle with blackness around it). The purpose of this is not so much to 'see further' as to highlight and condense. Pólya effortlessly groups the interested crowd that gathers around the reader. Pólya gives each face a different character, while directing attention with light (opaque white) and darkness.