Béla BIRKAS (1929-1973). Set of nine watercolors on paper, one signed and dated 62 lower right, some mounted on cardboard. Height 12 to 23 cm - Width: 14 to 24 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.