György Csato

View of a Hungarian city by night

Signed E. Martin Dimension with frame : 76 x 66 x 7 cm This lively oil painting on canvas by Eugène Martin, titled Jour de l’An and dated 1937, captures a festive winter scene in Geneva, likely set in the Jardin Anglais during New Year celebrations. The composition is animated by a dense crowd gathered along temporary fair structures, rendered with brisk, expressive brushstrokes that convey movement and communal energy rather than individual detail. The figures, reduced to rhythmic silhouettes, animate the foreground and lead the eye through the scene. In the background, the Ferris wheel rises as a focal point, symbolizing modern leisure and public festivity, while Swiss flags flutter above, clearly anchoring the scene in its national and geographic context. Martin’s handling of paint is confident and economical. The palette combines muted winter tones—grays, browns, and cool greens—with strategic accents of red and white that punctuate the crowd and flags, reinforcing the celebratory atmosphere. The architectural backdrop and distant landscape are simplified, allowing the human activity to dominate the visual narrative. Stylistically, the painting aligns with interwar European figurative modernism, blending urban genre painting with a painterly, impressionistic sensibility. Executed in 1937, the work offers a compelling snapshot of civic life in pre-war Switzerland, combining documentary value with artistic spontaneity. Signed and dated in the lower right, this painting is a strong example of Eugène Martin’s engagement with public life and urban festivity, and presents an appealing combination of historical context, recognizable location, and dynamic composition. Eugène Martin painting, Eugene Martin Swiss artist, Jour de l’An 1937, Geneva painting...

Work on panel Dimension with frame : 39 x 48.3 x 3.5 cm This work depicts a vibrant scene of a bustling market, captured with a dark, earthy palette that evokes a nostalgic atmospher...