Alfréd Réth was a Hungarian-French painter born on February 29, 1884 in Budapest. He was introduced to painting by his childhood friend István Farkas and later by the painter László Mednyánszky, who taught him to paint. Through Mednyánszky, Réth became interested in Buddhism and oriental art, which would influence his work throughout his career.

In 1905, he moved to Paris with József Egry where he worked in the studio of J.E. Blanche. In Paris, Réth became one of the representatives of the avant-garde and cubist movements, and he was known for his use of collage as a technique. He exhibited his works at the Salon d'Indépendants and the Salon d'Automne, and in 1912, he participated in a shared exhibition with artists such as Légers, Metzinger, and Kandinsky, alongside famous artists such as Matisse, Rouault and Braque. in Budapest. In 1913, he had an exhibition at the Sturm Galerie in Berlin and wrote articles for the journal of the Sturm.

After the First World War Réth joined the abstract movement and became a member of the group “Abstraction-Création”. He exhibited his works in Paris and Copenhagen, and his works were also featured in the “Le Cubisme” exhibition at the Musée d'Art Moderne. By the 1960s, he had become a successful and well-known artist, and his works were on sale in prestigious galleries in Paris and Saint Tropez.

He continued to work in abstraction throughout his life, and returned to figurative work and collages in his later years. A retrospective of his works was held in Chicago in 1966.

Réth died in his studio in Montparnasse. In 1963 and 1964, he had several retrospective exhibitions in Paris, Saint Tropez, and Saint-Etienne, showcasing his oeuvre and solidifying his legacy as a leading figure in the art world.