Emil Lindenfeld - Early Years

Early Years

Emil Lindenfeld was born in Hódmezővásárhely, Hungary, in 1905. He began his art studies under the supervision of János Tornyai, a Hungarian master of the 20th century. At age 15, the town held an exhibition of his paintings in the local movie theater.

Hungary soon proved to be too small a home for Emil’s ambition. His dream was the azure skies and bright sunshine of Italy, the cradle of art. In 1926, at age 21, he moved to Milan, Italy with great expectations but only 60 liras in his pocket. After spending a night in a cheap hotel, he bought two small canvases and some paint with the rest of his money. He painted two Hungarian landscapes and attempted to sell his paintings by going door to door. Finally, after no apparent luck, he sat down on the terrace of a coffee shop to exhibit his paintings. He was hungry, exhausted and his hope was waning. Then, the curator of the National Galleries happened to see his paintings. He asked for the price and Emil said, “make an offer.” He sold the paintings for 150 liras, which was enough to rent a furnished room in a house owned by the two sisters of a military prosecutor. These caring people helped Emil a great deal. To demonstrate his gratitude and appreciation, he secretly painted a portrait of the prosecutor. This painting was such a success that the prosecutor gave him his office to use as a studio and supplied him with painting materials.

He feverishly started to paint large, massive compositions, which fantasy didn’t let him rest. Day and night he painted working people, idyllic pastoral landscapes, sensuous nudes, peasants on the field, but his most dramatic theme, was the life of the miner. He went down to the mine for weeks to study the harshness of their lives. He also painted the lagoons of Venice, the tired resting people on the park bench, portraits of Christ and the Crucifixion – and soon enough, he held exhibition after exhibition in more and more prestigious galleries. Inevitably, he began to win award after award. His work was displayed in as many as three to four exhibitions yearly. Respected art-critics wrote about his work. The price of his paintings sold up to 40,000 liras, a far cry from the first 150 liras he received for the first two.