Károly Kernstok

Who is Károly Kernstok?

Károly Kernstok is a Hungarian painter. In the early twentieth century, he was known for being among the leading groups of Hungarian painters known as the "Neos" and The Eight, before the First World War. He was particularly influenced by the work of Henri Matisse, as may be seen in his monumental painting Riders at the Waterside.

Kernstok studied in Munich and Paris, and practiced as an artist mostly in Budapest. After the fall of the Hungarian Democratic Republic in 1919, he emigrated to Berlin. He lived and worked there until 1926. His work is collected in the Hungarian National Gallery, among other institutions. With the centenary of The Eight's first exhibit under that name, commemorative exhibits have been mounted in Hungary and Austria in 2011 and 2012.