(French born Holland, 1907 - 1977)
Circus
Oil on prepared board, 16 1/2 x 13 inches
Inscribed on verso: “cadre noir/avec filet or”
PROVENANCE: Reportedly purchased in France in 1928 by the photographer, writer, and critic Carl van Vechten (1880-1964), an important figure in the American avant-garde
The painter and illustrator Kristians Tonny was born in Amsterdam but moved to Paris when he was ten years old. At age twelve, he started exhibiting fantastic landscapes, Dances of Death, and visions of the Apocalypse in the manner of the Flemish old masters, especially Hieronymus Bosch (1450?-1516) and Pieter Brueghel the Elder (1528?-1569). In 1926 the Galerie Druet in Paris had a group show that included works by Tonny, Eugene Berman (1899-1972), Christian B?rard (1902-1949), and Pavel Tchelitchev (1898-1957), to which the term Neo-Romantic was later applied to distinguish them from the Cubism that then predominated. Overall, Tonny is regarded as a follower of the Surrealist movement that thrived in Europe during the 1920s and 1930s. He traveled widely, visiting Italy, Spain, North Africa, Mexico, and the United States. His drawing The Acrobats is in the city museum of The Hague.
About the Artist
(French born Holland, 1907 - 1977)
The painter and illustrator Kristians Tonny was born in Amsterdam but moved to Paris when he was ten years old. At age twelve, he started exhibiting fantastic landscapes, Dances of Death, and visions of the Apocalypse in the manner of the Dutch old masters, especially Hieronymus Bosch (1450?-1516) and Pieter Brueghel the Elder (1528?-1569). In 1926 the Galerie Druet in Paris had a group show that included works by Tonny, Eugene Berman (1899-1972), Christian Berard (1902-1949), and Pavel Tchelitchev (1898-1957), to which the term Neo-Romantic was later applied to distinguish them from the Cubism that then predominated. Overall, Tonny is regarded as a follower of the Surrealist movement that thrived in Europe during the 1920s and 1930s. He traveled widely, visiting Italy, Spain, North Africa, Mexico, and the United States. His drawing The Acrobats is in the city museum of The Hague.
