Béla BIRKAS (1929-1973). "The Great Battle II". Oil on canvas signed lower right. Height 130 cm - Width 195 cm Provenance: Artist's studio Exhibition: Institut Hongrois de Paris, Paris, "Béla Birkàs. Rétrospective", October 25 - November 7, 2000. Note: Pursuing his path between figuration and abstraction, Béla Birkàs returned to the sources of his inspiration, depicting "The Great Battle II" in a new version of Uccello's painting. In the second half of the '60s, his modus operandi changed, and the artist embarked on a number of exploratory avenues to broaden his pictorial range. Here, he pushes the synthesis of elements by reducing them to geometric shapes, the colored patches used in the first version of the work now inscribed in black outlines. The dynamism of the original scene is concentrated in the middle of the canvas, with a gray center surrounded by brightly colored elements, revealing spears, standards and horses. This work bears witness to Birkas' way of thinking at the time. "Abstract art has reached a dead end. Today, it's the academic style, the convention that an artist has to adopt. Abstraction has developed a spectacular technique, but it doesn't provide anything; it leaves the viewer alone." From abstract art, he denies "its emptiness and nonsense" but borrows its formal freedom, seeking to paint human emotions and thoughts through vivid colors.