Unidentified woman at 120 Andrássy Street, Budapest. circa 1916
This was the home of Jenő Hubay, the outstanding Hungarian violinist, composer, and teacher, whose performing arts were highly acclaimed abroad. Among others, he was closely associated with Johannes Brahms, the outstanding German composer and pianist. During the reconstruction of Andrássy Avenue, Imre Benes built a villa in the early Art Nouveau premodern style on this site at the request of his architect colleague Gyula Sváb. The layout and furnishings of the rooms, which have largely preserved their original condition, reveal the lifestyle of wealthy families at the beginning of the last century. There were separate apartments on each floor, and the staff lived in the basement. The family of Gyula Sváb, the owner of the house, lived on the first floor, while the ground floor apartment was rented by industrialist Vilmos Grünwald, who was on friendly terms with József Rippl-Rónai, the outstanding Hungarian post-impressionist painter.