Szánthó Mária

Red-haired Girl

The painting is a half-length female portrait depicting a young red-haired woman with bare breasts, draped in a light yellow tulle-like fabric on her shoulder, and wearing a black hat. The model sits in a sensual yet elegant pose: her gaze is directed straight at the viewer, her lips are slightly smiling, reflecting playfulness and charm in her expression. The background is blurred, with greenish-brown tones that plastically highlight the woman’s body and face. The skin rendering is soft, painted in rosy shades gently accentuated by light. The brushwork exhibits classical academic precision, but the hair and tulle are executed in a looser, more impasto technique. The color palette is warm, dominated by ochre, red, gold, and pink shades, with the black hat creating a deep contrast.
Style: academic-realist portrait painting with a hint of art deco.
Likely decade(s): 1930s–1940s.

The frame needs repair!

Key details

• Half-length female portrait with bare breasts.

• Black hat, light tulle, gold–pink harmony.

• Soft, smoothed brushwork on the face and body.

• Direct, charming gaze, idealized femininity.

• Realistic depiction, classic setting.

Mária Szánthó (1905–1988) was a prominent figure in Hungarian academic painting and portraiture. She studied figurative painting under Gyula Rudnay and János Vaszary at the Academy of Fine Arts. Her art centrally featured the idealized yet sensitive representation of female beauty. In her portraits and nudes, classical anatomical knowledge is combined with lyrical, harmonious color usage. Her works are rarely available on the market as her oeuvre is primarily found in private collections.

Similar Works (“Visual Neighbors”)

• Mária Szánthó: Woman with a Hat, oil/canvas, 80×60 cm – 2021, BÁV, 980,000 HUF.

• Mária Szánthó: In Red Tulle, oil/canvas, 75×55 cm – 2020, Axioart, 880,000 HUF.

• János Vaszary: Young Woman in a Hat, 1930s – similar compositional principle, feminine portrait atmosphere.

• Gyula Rudnay: Portrait of a Woman, oil/canvas – plastic representation of face and skin.

• Jenő Körmendi Frim: Woman with a Hat, 1935 – female charm and elegance.

• Béla Iványi Grünwald: Portrait with a Hat, oil, canvas, 1920s – tonal and compositional affinity.

Justification: similar period, feminine portrait genre, idealized characterization, realistic–lyrical formulation.

Modifier Factors:

• Theme premium: woman with a hat, bare body – sought-after type → +20%.

• Condition: good, minor frame damage → −5–10%.

• Size premium: 80×60 cm → above average.

• Authenticity value: signed, classic execution → +10–15%.

Scientific Background

• Monograph: Tamás Balogh: Mária Szánthó – The Painter of Classic Female Beauty, 2001, ISBN 963-9262-15-8.

• Artwork Manager: Hungarian National Gallery, 20th-century collection – mnm.hu.

• Digital Archive: Kieselbach.hu – Mária Szánthó profile

• Literary Reference: Artportal.hu – artist profile and exhibition list.