JANOS APATFALVI CZENE (1904-1984) Born in Budapest October 24, 1904, his art training began at the Hungarian Royal Academy of Fine Art under noted Hungarian painters Gyula Rudnay, Károly Lyka, Zsigmond Kisfaludi Strobl and István Csók. 

Czene was primarily inspired by the 1920s. Significant artistic developments that had been established in the earlier part of the 20th century continued to be worked on during the 1920s and 1930s. During this period the careers of a number of inspiring and pioneering artists began to flourish, yet at the same time there was an atmosphere of consideration and solemnity following the horrors of the First World War. Major shifts in politics were happening worldwide, and Marxism took a strong hold as an ideology amongst artist groups and communities. The leading focus for art during this time was on Freudian theory and the human subconscious, and these ideas were best represented by artists including Salvador Dali, Giorgio de Chirico, Andre Breton, Rene Magritte and Paul Delvaux, whilst in Paris, artists such as Brancusi, Modigliani and Soutine established methods of art which were vivid and dynamic. His first exhibition in 1926 was eventually followed by more than 60 exhibitions over the next 25 years, of which 8 were solo shows.  In 1938 he participated in the Venice Biennial where he attracted popular appreciation of his work.  He received a two-year grant to study in Italy at the Collegium Hungaricum in Rome during which time he also studied in Naples and Venice.