Two years later, he obtained a grant which enabled him to move to Paris and study with Mihály Munkácsy, the most important Hungarian realist painter.

In 1888, he met the members of Les Nabis and under their influence he painted his first important work, The Inn at Pont-Aven, notable for its dark atmosphere.

[1][2] Later, he returned to Hungary, where critical reception was at first lukewarm, but he eventually had a successful exhibition entitled "Rippl-Rónai Impressions 1890-1900".

He believed that, for an artist, not only is his body of work significant, but also his general modus vivendi, even including the clothes he wore.

He thus became interested in design, which led to commissions such as the dining room and the entire furnishings of the Andrássy palace, and a stained-glass window in the Ernst Museum, (both in Budapest).