Jozsef Rippl-Rónai was born on May 23, 1861 in Kaposvár, son of the school principal in the city. He began his studies at the secondary school in Kaposvár, then won in Budapest pharmacist diploma. Meanwhile he began to draw and paint colors. He went to Munich in 1884 where he entered the Art Academy in the class with live models by Ludwig von Herterich. For 1885 and 1886 he received a scholarship from the Hungarian National Commission of Fine Arts.

He went to Paris, where - after an apprenticeship in the studio of Mihály Minkácsy - briefly attending the Academy Julian. The subsequent evolution of Rippl-Rónai is marked by friendship with Scottish painter James Pitcairn-Knowles, that uses shared a studio in Neuilly. By Knowles has contact with the Pre-Raphaelite movement style.

A special influence on his Rippl-Rónai is exercised by the Nabis group, which participates in exhibitions with several paintings. The first individual exhibition of the painter was opened in March 1892 in the Austro-Hungarian embassy building in Paris. In 1894 expose book, My Grandmother, which became a great success. Treating simple, almost decorative surfaces and shaping forms in black and cutting the main subject of the contrast value fund has attracted not only the attention but also praises of Gauguin, who had a similar style.

In 1897 he exhibited at the gallery "S. Bing" in Paris, Art Nouveau section. Rippl-Rónai participated for the last time in 1898 at an exhibition at the gallery along with the Nabis group "Durand-Ruel." During a trip to Banyuls-sur-Mer, a settlement located in the foothills of the Pyrenees, is fascinated by the surroundings, the bright colors of the places, which causes him to paint landscapes from nature, which is a transition to a chromatic light penetrated and in rendering interiors.

In 1901 he left Paris for good and moved to Somogyaszaló, his brother Ödön. In summer he traveled to Ostende in Belgium. A fixed numerous summer pastels atmosphere of the resort's seafront. In February 1902 it was settled in Kaposvár. The main theme of his paintings becomes illustrate interiors. In 1902 he exhibits works at the Palace of Merkur in Pest.

In 1906 a representative exhibition was organized with 318 of his works at the Salon Könyves Kálmán. This exhibition brought them total success and unanimous recognition.

In 1908 arose Circle of Hungarian Impressionists and Naturalists, the group of artists MIÉNK. Pál Szinyei leaders have Merse, Károly Ferenczy Rippl-Ronai and. At their first exhibition at "" National Show "presented modern contemporary trends.

Early 1910s has only brought successes: in 1911 has a retrospective exhibition in the hall of the market "Kristóf" House of Artists, in 1912 the state had bought the painting entitled "My grandmother" in the same year exhibit paintings in Frankfurt, Munich and Cologne . In 1914 the Künstlerhaus Vienna State receives the grand prize with gold medal for painting depicting French artist "Maillol".

During World War running a series of drawings inspired by war. Becomes the front Serbian war correspondent, where he works together with Austrian painter Kokoschka.

A period in which mainly carried portraits pastels depicting female model being prferat Bányai Elza, whom he had known in 1915. In 1923 he decided to carry out a gallery of portraits of his contemporaries-pastel.

József Rippl-Ronai died in Kaposvár villa in Rome on November 25, 1927.

Source:
"Jozsef Rippl-Ronai," Wikipedia with Google Translations, Jun 2016