Tibor Csernus (1927, Kondoros – 2007, Paris) was an outstanding figure in Hungarian and international figurative painting. He and his wife, sculptor Katalin Sylvester, had lived in the French capital since 1964. After moving homes several times, they were among the first residents of the reconstructed (1978) legendary Bateau Lavoir (“The Boat Wash-house”) on Montmartre, a building that houses artists’ studios. Tibor Csernus lived and worked there until his death, and entertained friends visiting him from Hungary. The eminent Claude Bernard Gallery hosted many successful exhibitions of his works, which earned him international fame. His 5×8-metre studio was a laboratory of classical realist and later expressive figurative painting. The contents and furnishings of his entire studio were preserved and transported to Budapest following his death, with the help of the Gábor Kovács Art Foundation (KOGART). Initially the studio was reinstalled in KOGART’s premises on Andrássy út and was later moved to its current place. It has been reconstructed as faithfully as possible to the state in which it was left after the death of the painter, with his last unfinished work on the easel. Only rare and fortunate circumstances will allow a studio to survive intact in its original location. Csernus’s studio could not have remained in the Bateau Lavoir for too long. This way, however, it could return to the city of his youth, Budapest, presenting a special opportunity for admirers of the artist to visit a place with an inspiring atmosphere, and to preserve the environment in which an outstanding oeuvre was conceived.
The studio can be visited by appointment.