How the Party Concluded

oil on canvas

24 x 48 inches painting size

1972

unframed

Catalogue No: TNYIL-220

Description: Nyilasi enjoyed a good party, but instead of binge drinking, he would gradually sip at a single drink while busily sketching or painting the “action”. His friends found this amusing, and would often be hanging over his shoulder looking at his work. In this particular painting, Nyilasi shows how one party wound down into drunk people collapsed around the room. The man in the foreground, with his socks comically exposed, is uncomfortably perched on a type of bench and tries to use his hand as a pillow for his dropped head. The passed-out woman in the background has lost her shoes and is unaware that her leg is rather immodestly exposed. The deep colours suggest a smoky, closed interior and the heaviness of unconsciousness.

This painting is matched by others. This is the series: TNYIL-426 “At a Party” (1967) (graphite sketch); TNYIL-356 “After the Party” (1968) (watercolour); TNYIL-220 “How the Party Concluded” (1972) (large oil on canvas);TNYIL-317 “The Drunk” (1976) (small oil on panel).