Born in Northern Hungary in 1899, Bertalan studied at the Nagybanyai Art School under some of the most important Hungarian artists, including Ivànyi Grünwald, Adolf Fényes, and Istàn Réti. In 1924, he moved to Paris, where he had his first exhibition in 1925. Bertalan exhibited portraits at the Salon des Independants from 1926 to 1930, and at the Salon d'Automne in 1926 and at the Salon des Tuileries in 1930. His works are in the collection of the Paal Laszlo Societe in Budapest and in the Museum of Nuremeburg. In 1928, he obtained the Szinyei Prize.