Béla BIRKAS (1929-1973). The Church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, 1963. Watercolor on paper pasted at the corners onto cardboard, signed, dated and located "Firenze" lower right. Height 10.5 cm - Width: 25 cm Two acquarelles on paper pasted on cardboard, one signed, dated and located "63 Firenze" lower right. Height 12.5 to 13 cm - Width: 15.5 to 18.5 cm Provenance: Artist's studio Note:In 1962, Béla Birkàs left the United States to settle in Paris with his wife, in order to live more deeply his painting, which he knew to be "European". A fervent lover and connoisseur of the Italian Renaissance, he drew inspiration for his art from his travels in Italy. It was in the presence of the great masters such as Giotto, Paolo Uccello and Piero della Francesca that the artist was introduced to watercolor. Nourished by classical subjects, Béla Birkàs definitively emancipated himself from figuration and took the first step in his transition to figurative abstraction.