Rippl-Rónai Painting Auctioned for HUF 65 Million in Budapest

Hungarian painter József Rippl-Rónai's portrait of Lajos Kunffy sold for HUF 65 million, while among his contemporaries, Ilona Keserü's painting Landscape fetched the highest price, HUF 40 million, at the Virág Judit Gallery winter auction.

According to the gallery's announcement on Tuesday, nearly 200 items went under the hammer at Monday evening's auction, including masterpieces by the greatest figures in Hungarian painting. There were numerous online bids, with some items triggering bidding wars: István Szőnyi's painting Grey Danube doubled its starting price, selling for HUF 24 million, while Hugó Scheiber's sailboats also fetched three times their original price.

The new owner paid HUF 65 million for one of József Rippl-Rónai's paintings, a portrait of Lajos Kunffy. As reported, the value of the work was enhanced by the fact that it depicted the painter's good friend: the two artists, Kunffy and Rippl-Rónai, traveled together throughout Paris, and upon their return home, they often painted each other and their wives.