Sándor Galimberti and Valéria Dénes: The Hungarian Painting Power Couple of Their Time
zita kisgergely
Galimberti & Dénes, both talented Hungarian painters at the beginning of the 20th century, find each other in Paris and get married. But, on the verge of international artistic stardom, World War One intervenes, cutting their careers – and their lives – tragically short.
Valéria Dénes & Sándor Galimberti
The couple have become seminal figures of early twentieth century modern Hungarian painting, so I jumped at the chance to catch a temporary exhibition of their paintings at the National Gallery (located in the Buda Castle in Budapest). Keen to learn more about them, I was pleasantly surprised to discover some recently uncovered bombshells concerning their work.
The Early Years
Sándor Galimberti was born in 1883 into a family that had immigrated to Kaposvár in Southern Hungary. Sándor’s father, Luigi Galimberti (from Trieste, Italy) had studied painting at the Fine Arts Academy in Venice. It was one of his father’s friends, (the acclaimed Hungarian painter József Rippl-Rónai) who noticed the junior Galimberti’s talent. Sándor spent time studying at the School for Applied for Arts in Budapest as well as at the Fine Arts Academy in Munich before going to Paris in 1905 to immerse himself in the avant-garde art scene there.
Born in 1877 to parents who encouraged her artistic leanings, Valéria Dénes began studying painting with esteemed Hungarian painter Zsigmond Vajda, then attended a private painting school in Budapest run by the artist Ferenc Szablya-Frischauf. In 1906 she went to Paris where she eventually became an apprentice to Henri Matisse. Before leaving for Paris to continue their painting careers, both Dénes and Galimberti attended the Nagybánya artists’ colony, the well-known Hungarian centre for plein air painting and artistic experimentation.
Valéria Dénes, STILL LIFE WITH FLOWERS, 1908-1910.
A Union of Love and Art
Dénes and Galimberti married in the early 1910s. Their relationship was clearly a meeting of hearts as well as minds, their lives profoundly intertwined as they explored their mutual love of art and painting.
By this time based in Paris, Dénes and Galimberti travelled to the south of France and north Africa, inseparable as artists and active participants in Hungary’s burgeoning avant-garde movement. Frequently contributing to exhibitions (such as the Salon in Paris), in 1914 they also held a solo show at the gallery in Montmartre founded by Berthe Weill – the renowned art dealer who launched the careers of Picasso and Matisse.
Sándor Galimberti, INTERIOR WITH BENTWOOD CHAIR, 1908
Galimberti’s early works reflect an academic and impressionist influence, but as he grew, his style evolved to incorporate elements of Post-Impressionism and Expressionism. He became deeply influenced by Paul Cézanne and Vincent van Gogh, adopting their techniques to create compositions that explored structure, colour, and depth. Dénes similarly showed unflinching bravery and ambition in stepping out of her comfort zone and evolving her art, particularly apparent in her later exploration of cubism. The couple’s oeuvre encompasses multiple art movements, from plein air naturalism and art nouveau to fauvism and futurism. They also became known as being among the first Hungarian Cubists.
The Dénes painting now known as Bruges was bought at auction in 2019 for the highest price any female Hungarian artist has as of yet commanded. But that'‘s not the bombshell. Research in the run-up to this current exhibition at the National Gallery uncovered that some of the paintings once thought of as being Galimberti’s were in fact painted by his wife. This includes the most celebrated of the couple’s paintings, Amsterdam.
Valéria Dénes, AMSTERDAM, 1914-1915
On closer inspection of this truly unique and eye-catching painting, it became clear that not only had they got the painter wrong, but also the location. The work actually depicts the Dutch seaside town of Scheveningen. (Incidentally, the picture above does this painting no justice. It simply must be seen in real life!)
Lives Cut Tragically Short
Like many artists of their milieu, World War One somewhat disrupted their work when they were forced to relocate from France to Holland to avoid being interned. They continued painting, but just as they were on the brink of artistic stardom, their careers were cut short.
Galimberti’s desire to enlist in the army brought the couple back to Hungary, sadly, with tragic consequences. Dénes caught pneumonia and died shortly after their return to the country. Galimberti, heartbroken, committed suicide a few hours after her funeral. Both were still under the age of 40, and less than 40 of their combined works have survived.
Thankfully, their artistic legacy is finally receiving the recognition it deserves.
Looking for visual stimulation on cold, autumn days? Discover the art of Sándor Galimberti and Valéria Dénes (who studied under Henri Matisse), currently on show at the National Gallery in Budapest. The exhibition also reveals the truth behind one of the most celebrated paintings in this married couple’s body of work.
The Galimbertis: The Lives and Works of Sándor Galimberti (1883–1915) and Valéria Dénes (1877–1915) is on at the Hungarian National Gallery in Budapest until 26th January 2025.
Sources and further information
The Hungarian National Gallery
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