Frequently asked questions
Who was György Rauscher?
Rauscher György (in Western order Gyorgy Rauscher; German-language sources Georg Rauscher; born Dorog, 29 April 1902; died Komárom, 3 October 1930) was a Hungarian painter of the new objectivity (új tárgyiasság / Neue Sachlichkeit) and, in his Berlin years, of art deco society portraiture. He died of tuberculosis at twenty-eight. The full account is in the biography.
How many works did Rauscher make?
The documented oeuvre is the 118 works of the 1935 Nemzeti Szalon estate catalogue plus more than two dozen further documented works (pre-1922 early works, auction-traced and rediscovered canvases, and other pieces that have since surfaced). The widely repeated “around 200” is a contemporaries’ estimate of his total lifetime output, much of it now untraced; the reasoning is on /methodology.
Did Rauscher really paint Marlene Dietrich?
Yes. Rauscher painted Marlene Dietrich in Berlin in 1929, and the portrait is held at the Komáromi Klapka György Múzeum (/bibliography#szamado-2019, p. 32). See /sitters/marlene-dietrich. He also painted Lilian Harvey and Elisabeth Bergner in the same Berlin period.
What style did Rauscher paint in?
Rauscher worked in the new objectivity (új tárgyiasság / Neue Sachlichkeit), the sober, hard-contoured, plastically modelled manner of the mid-1920s, and was among the first Hungarian painters to take it up; in Berlin his work shifted toward art deco and the “galant world” of society portraiture. The full reading is on /biography/hungarian-years.
Where can I see Rauscher’s work?
The largest single collection, ten original paintings and thirteen reproductions, is at the Komáromi Klapka György Múzeum, now displayed at the Brigetio Heritage Visitor Centre in Komárom (/klapka-muzeum). Other works are held by the Magyar Nemzeti Galéria, the Petőfi Irodalmi Múzeum and OSZMI in Budapest, the Duna Menti Múzeum in Komárno, and the Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava. The catalogue can be filtered by location at /works.
Was Rauscher Jewish? What happened to his family in the Holocaust?
Rauscher came from a Jewish-Hungarian family in Komárom. He died in 1930, but his parents, Dr. Rauscher Zsigmond and Milch Emma, were murdered at Auschwitz in 1944, as were members of the maternal line. They are remembered on the /holocaust-memorial.
What was Rauscher’s last painting?
Rauscher’s last completed work was a full-length portrait of Countess Klára Anna Fáy de Fáj, painted in 1930 at the Pálffy-Daun estate near Bicske, shortly before his death (/works/palffy-daun-1930 and /sitters/klara-fay-de-faj).
What is the Talmudista?
Talmudista (The Talmudist, also titled Merengő zsidó, Pensive Jew) is a 1925 oil, one of Rauscher’s most important New Objectivity works, held at the Komáromi Klapka György Múzeum. See /works/talmudista-1925.
Was Rauscher related to the other Rauschers?
No. Rauscher is distinct from the German painter Georg Friedrich Rauscher (1790-1856), the Hungarian graphic artist Rauscher Lajos (1845-1914, who is not a relative), and other bearers of the surname. The full list is on /name-disambiguation.
Did Rauscher act in a film?
Once. In 1921 he played a small role, “Józsi,” in the Hungarian silent film Ilona, opposite the actress Lia de Putti, whom he later painted (/bibliography#szamado-2019, p. 33; /sitters/putty-lia).
What was the 1935 Nemzeti Szalon estate exhibition?
The 1935 estate exhibition was the posthumous showing (hagyatéki kiállítás) of 118 of Rauscher’s works at the Nemzeti Szalon in Budapest, 26 October to 10 November 1935, organised by Hubay Andor with the painter’s brother László. Its catalogue is the most complete record of the oeuvre and is reproduced as a navigable document at /exhibitions/1935-nemzeti-szalon-estate.