Vajda Lajos Munkácsy Utcában 1936 

Vajda Lajos created this pencil drawing of a house on Munkácsy Street in 1936. The architecture is rendered in a stark, linear style, with sharp angles and an absence of naturalistic detail. The choice of pencil as a medium is significant. It’s readily available and requires relatively little skill to use. The image is based on observation, but filtered through a lens of geometric abstraction, which gives the house a fragmented, almost Cubist quality. We might also note the great amount of labor involved in achieving such careful detail with such an unforgiving and basic material. The drawing’s materiality influences its appearance, imbuing it with a sense of austerity and simplicity. The lack of color further emphasizes the building's basic form and the precision of Lajos's lines. The focus on material and making allows us to see the artwork not just as a representation of a building, but as a reflection of the artist's engagement with the world around him.