Lazlo Tatz (Hungary 1888 - Philippines 1951)

Portrait of a Chinese man

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Oil on canvas, H. 50 x W. 44.5 cm

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Tatz studied in Budapest and Paris, and in 1931 he started working in Shanghai with his brother, a sculptor. In the early 20th century, after the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, Shanghai, a treaty port, became China's international economic and cultural centre. It had a substantial international settlement, foreign enterprises and a very European atmosphere and architecture. As a result, Europeans, and Americans alike, came to make quick money. However, in 1937 with the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese war and the occupation of Shanghai by Japanese forces, this all ended abruptly. Tatz, after that, moved to the Philippines, where he died in 1951. For a portrait of a Chinese woman by Tatz previously sold by us, see: Uit Verre streken, March 2015, no. 48.