African girl (1940-es évek első fele)

Born in Munich, Czech-born Szantrucsek studied with Adolf Fényes and János Vaszary. In 1926 he exhibited for the first time at the Kunsthalle, and in 1930 he had a collection at the Ernst Museum. He was a member of the Union of New Artists (UME) and the New Society of Fine Artists (KUT). Between 1928 and 1931 he visited Paris several times, where he had an exhibition of his work. After 1935, he supported himself mainly as a craftsman, and lived in Athens in 1943 and 1944, where he worked as a draughtsman and drawing teacher. He then returned to Hungary. 

Szantrucsek visited Algiers in the early forties. In 1948, he exhibited his works, mainly graphics, made in Paris and Africa, at the Free Association of Fine Artists. The painting African Girl Balancing with a Pint on Her Head bears the hallmarks of pre-war Orientalism and post-impressionism. The two palm trees hold the woman, whose figure and posture echo the shape of the pitcher, like the door of a hut. The colours are similarly resolved: the green of the palm tree closes the composition with the grassy part on the ground, while the earthy colours of the huts create a link with the woman's skin colour and her dress.