László Mednyánszky
Encyclopedia
Baron László Mednyánszky (23 April 1852 – 17 April 1919) or Ladislaus Josephus Balthasar Eustachius Mednyánszky Mednyánszky, the painter-philosopher, is one of the most enigmatic figures in the history of Hungarian art. Despite an aristocrat
ic background, he spent most of his life moving around Europe working as an artist. Mednyánszky spent considerable periods in seclusion but mingled with people across society - in the aristocracy, art world, peasantry and army - many of whom became the subjects of his paintings. His most important works depict scenes of nature and poor, working people, particularly from his home region in Kingdom of Hungary
. He is also known as a painter of Slovak landscape (Upper Hungary) and Slovak folk.
Mednyánszky was born in Beckov
, the Habsburg Monarchy
(now Beckov in Slovakia
), to Eduard Mednyánszky and Maria Anna Mednyánszky, (née Szirmay) both from landowning families. He came from a Hungarian noble
family. Some say he was of Slovak origin, however, according to others, he was born into a Hungarian family with Polish
and Hungarian ancestry. One of his grandmother, Eleonora Richer was of French
origin. His native tongue was Hungarian
and it is not even sure he could speak in Slovak.
Mednyánszky's family moved in 1861 to the chateau of his grandfather, Baltazár Szirmay, at Nagyőr (Strážky), near Szepesbéla (Spišská Belá
) in north-eastern Slovakia. This was to be the setting for many of his works.
Mednyánszky met the Austrian artist Thomas Ender
in 1863 when Ender visited the chateau at Strážky. Ender took an interest in Mednyánszky's early efforts at drawing, lending his assistance to improve Mednyánszky's skills.
Mednyánszky attended a grammar school in Késmárk (Kežmarok
), near his home, then attended the Akademie der Bildenden Künste
(Academy of Fine Arts) in Munich in 1872—1873. Dissatisfied in Munich, he moved to Paris to attend the École des Beaux-Arts
. After the death of his professor, Isidore Pils
, in 1875, Mednyánszky left the École and began practicing independently from Montmartre
.
Mednyánszky returned to Strážky after 1877 to continue painting, and subsequently travelled widely in Europe, between his childhood homes in Upper Hungary
and Budapest
, Vienna
, Paris and beyond. Mednyánszky visited the Szolnok
artists' colony in the autumn of 1877 and Italy
in 1878. His mother died in 1883, after which he lived in seclusion in Nagyőr. He returned to Nagyőr in 1887 to help deal with an outbreak of cholera
but soon fell ill himself, with pneumonia
. He spent much of 1889-1892 in Paris and returned regularly to Strážky until 1900. His father, Eduard, died in 1895. Mednyánszky held his only solo exhibition at the Galerie Georges Petit
in Paris in 1897. For the years 1905-1911 he lived in Budapest, then later moved to Vienna.
When the First World War broke out in 1914, Mednyánszky was in Budapest again. He worked as a war correspondent
on the Austro-Hungarian frontlines in Galicia, Serbia and the southern Tirol. In the spring of 1918 he returned to Strážky to recover from war wounds. After spending some time working in Budapest, Mednyánszky died in poor health in the spring of 1919, in Vienna.
. The articles of association of this organization were written by Mednyánszky. This association had a few thousands members.
Mednyánszky's works were largely in the Impressionist tradition, with influences from Symbolism
and Art Nouveau
. His works depict landscape scenes of nature, the weather and everyday, poor people such as peasants and workmen. The region of his birth, north-eastern part of the Kingdom of Hungary
), part of Austria-Hungary
(today Slovakia
) was the site and subject of many of his paintings; scenes from the Carpathian Mountains
and the Hungarian Plains
are numerous. He also painted portraits of his friends and family, and images of soldiers during the First World War whilst working as a war correspondent.
His works are currently displayed in the Slovak National Gallery
in Bratislava
and Strážky chateau, which was donated to SNG by his niece Margita Czóbel in 1972.
A lot of his works are displayed in the Hungarian National Gallery
in Budapest
as well. A large number of his works were destroyed during the Second World War. In 2004 a New York gallery was host to a show of about 70 19th- and early 20th-century Hungarian
paintings, and a few works on paper, from the collection of Nicholas Salgo, a former United States ambassador to Hungary. The exhibition's title, Everywhere a Foreigner and Yet Nowhere a Stranger, was drawn from the diary of the 19th-century Hungarian painter Baron László Mednyánszky.
(Oil on canvas, 28 x 42 cm, Hungarian National Gallery
, Budapest
)
(Oil on canvas, 40 x 60 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
(Oil on canvas, 114 x 201 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
(Oil on canvas, 153,5 x 49 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
(Oil on canvas, 29,5 x 48 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
(Oil on canvas, 85,5 x 99 cm, Private collection)
(Oil on wood, 17,5 x 13 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
(Oil on wood, 41 x 31 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
(Oil on wood, 27 x 21 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
(Oil on wood, 32,5 x 22,5 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
(Oil on canvas, 36,5 x 29 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
(Oil on canvas, 34 x 50 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
(Oil on canvas, 101 x 74 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
(Oil on canvas, 60 x 90 cm, Janus Pannonius Museum, Pécs)
(Oil on canvas, 55 x 45 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
(Oil on canvas, 47 x 32 cm, Private collection)
(Oil on canvas, 98 x 73 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
(Oil on canvas, 120 x 195 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
(Oil on canvas, 80 x 100 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
(Oil on canvas, 33 x 41,5 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
(Oil on canvas, 120 x 140 cm, Dobó István Castle Museum, Eger)
(Oil on wood, 45 x 34,5 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
(Oil on canvas, 35 x 26,5 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
(Oil on canvas, 120 x 140 cm, Private collection)
(Oil on canvas, 40,5 x 61 cm, Private collection)
(Oil on canvas, 72,5 x 100 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
(Oil on canvas, 100 x 70,5 cm, Private collection)
(Oil on canvas, 70 x 100 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
(Oil on canvas, 34 x 26 cm, Private collection)
(Oil on canvas, 85 x 65 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
(Oil on canvas, 162 x 130 cm, Private collection)
(Oil on canvas, 28,3 x 34,5 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
(Oil on canvas, 28,5 x 23 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
(Oil on cardboard, 36,5 x 28 cm, Private collection)
(Oil on wood, 25 x 30,5 cm, Private collection)
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
ic background, he spent most of his life moving around Europe working as an artist. Mednyánszky spent considerable periods in seclusion but mingled with people across society - in the aristocracy, art world, peasantry and army - many of whom became the subjects of his paintings. His most important works depict scenes of nature and poor, working people, particularly from his home region in Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
. He is also known as a painter of Slovak landscape (Upper Hungary) and Slovak folk.
Biography
Beckov
Beckov is a village and municipality in Nové Mesto nad Váhom District in the Trenčín Region of western Slovakia.-History:In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1208...
, the Habsburg Monarchy
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
(now Beckov in Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
), to Eduard Mednyánszky and Maria Anna Mednyánszky, (née Szirmay) both from landowning families. He came from a Hungarian noble
Nobility in the Kingdom of Hungary
The origin of the nobility in the Kingdom of Hungary can be traced to the Magyar conquest of Pannonia in the 9th century, and it developed over the course of the Middle Ages...
family. Some say he was of Slovak origin, however, according to others, he was born into a Hungarian family with Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Hungarian ancestry. One of his grandmother, Eleonora Richer was of French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
origin. His native tongue was Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
and it is not even sure he could speak in Slovak.
Mednyánszky's family moved in 1861 to the chateau of his grandfather, Baltazár Szirmay, at Nagyőr (Strážky), near Szepesbéla (Spišská Belá
Spišská Belá
Spišská Belá is a town in the Kežmarok District in the Prešov Region in Spiš in northern Slovakia.-History:The town was first mentioned in historical records in 1263. The town received town rights in 1271. Scientist and inventor Joseph Petzval was born here in 1807. The town center has been...
) in north-eastern Slovakia. This was to be the setting for many of his works.
Mednyánszky met the Austrian artist Thomas Ender
Thomas Ender
Thomas Ender was an Austrian painter.-Biography:He was twin brother of Johann Ender. He also studied at the Vienna Academy, becoming a noted landscape painter. He won the grand prize at the Vienna Academy in 1816. Going to Brazil in 1817, he brought back nearly a thousand drawings and water colors...
in 1863 when Ender visited the chateau at Strážky. Ender took an interest in Mednyánszky's early efforts at drawing, lending his assistance to improve Mednyánszky's skills.
Mednyánszky attended a grammar school in Késmárk (Kežmarok
Kežmarok
Kežmarok is a town in the Spiš region of eastern Slovakia , on the Poprad River.-History:...
), near his home, then attended the Akademie der Bildenden Künste
Academy of Fine Arts, Munich
The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich was founded 1808 by Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria in Munich as the "Royal Academy of Fine Arts" and is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany...
(Academy of Fine Arts) in Munich in 1872—1873. Dissatisfied in Munich, he moved to Paris to attend the École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
. After the death of his professor, Isidore Pils
Isidore Pils
Isidore-Alexandre-Augustin Pils was a French painter.Pils was born in Paris as the son of a soldier. At the age of twelve, he studied with Guillaume Guillon-Lethière for four years...
, in 1875, Mednyánszky left the École and began practicing independently from Montmartre
Montmartre
Montmartre is a hill which is 130 metres high, giving its name to the surrounding district, in the north of Paris in the 18th arrondissement, a part of the Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit and as a nightclub district...
.
Mednyánszky returned to Strážky after 1877 to continue painting, and subsequently travelled widely in Europe, between his childhood homes in Upper Hungary
Upper Hungary
Upper Hungary is the usual English translation for the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia...
and Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Paris and beyond. Mednyánszky visited the Szolnok
Szolnok
Szolnok is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. Its location on the banks of the Tisza river, at the heart of the Great Hungarian Plain, has made it an important cultural and economic crossroads for centuries....
artists' colony in the autumn of 1877 and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in 1878. His mother died in 1883, after which he lived in seclusion in Nagyőr. He returned to Nagyőr in 1887 to help deal with an outbreak of cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
but soon fell ill himself, with pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
. He spent much of 1889-1892 in Paris and returned regularly to Strážky until 1900. His father, Eduard, died in 1895. Mednyánszky held his only solo exhibition at the Galerie Georges Petit
Georges Petit
Georges Petit was a French art dealer, a key figure in the Paris art world and an important promoter and cultivator of Impressionist artists.-Early career:...
in Paris in 1897. For the years 1905-1911 he lived in Budapest, then later moved to Vienna.
When the First World War broke out in 1914, Mednyánszky was in Budapest again. He worked as a war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
on the Austro-Hungarian frontlines in Galicia, Serbia and the southern Tirol. In the spring of 1918 he returned to Strážky to recover from war wounds. After spending some time working in Budapest, Mednyánszky died in poor health in the spring of 1919, in Vienna.
His political views
He edgily tried to establish an association against the Pan-Slav agitators with Béla Grünwald. The Hungarian politician Grünwald banned Matica SlovenskaMatica slovenská
The Matica slovenská Mother) is Slovakia's public-law cultural and scientific institution focusing on topics around the Slovak nation. It is based in the city of Martin...
. The articles of association of this organization were written by Mednyánszky. This association had a few thousands members.
Works
Symbolism (arts)
Symbolism was a late nineteenth-century art movement of French, Russian and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts. In literature, the style had its beginnings with the publication Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire...
and Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
. His works depict landscape scenes of nature, the weather and everyday, poor people such as peasants and workmen. The region of his birth, north-eastern part of the Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
), part of Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
(today Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
) was the site and subject of many of his paintings; scenes from the Carpathian Mountains
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
and the Hungarian Plains
Great Hungarian Plain
The Great Hungarian Plain is a plain occupying the southern and eastern part of Hungary, some parts of the Eastern Slovak Lowland, southwestern Ukraine, the Transcarpathian Lowland , western Romania , northern Serbia , and eastern Croatia...
are numerous. He also painted portraits of his friends and family, and images of soldiers during the First World War whilst working as a war correspondent.
His works are currently displayed in the Slovak National Gallery
Slovak National Gallery
The Slovak National Gallery is a network of galleries in Slovakia. It has its headquarters in Bratislava.The gallery was established by law on 29 July 1949. In Bratislava, it has its displays situated in Esterházy Palace and the Water Barracks which are adjacent to each other...
in Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
and Strážky chateau, which was donated to SNG by his niece Margita Czóbel in 1972.
A lot of his works are displayed in the Hungarian National Gallery
Hungarian National Gallery
The Hungarian National Gallery , was established in 1957 as the national art museum. It is located in Buda Castle in Budapest, Hungary. Its collections cover Hungarian art in all genres, including the many twentieth-century Hungarian artists who worked in Paris and other locations in the West...
in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
as well. A large number of his works were destroyed during the Second World War. In 2004 a New York gallery was host to a show of about 70 19th- and early 20th-century Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
paintings, and a few works on paper, from the collection of Nicholas Salgo, a former United States ambassador to Hungary. The exhibition's title, Everywhere a Foreigner and Yet Nowhere a Stranger, was drawn from the diary of the 19th-century Hungarian painter Baron László Mednyánszky.
List of works
- Marshland (1880)
(Oil on canvas, 28 x 42 cm, Hungarian National Gallery
Hungarian National Gallery
The Hungarian National Gallery , was established in 1957 as the national art museum. It is located in Buda Castle in Budapest, Hungary. Its collections cover Hungarian art in all genres, including the many twentieth-century Hungarian artists who worked in Paris and other locations in the West...
, Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
)
- Osiery with Cows (c. 1880)
(Oil on canvas, 40 x 60 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
- Watering (c. 1880)
(Oil on canvas, 114 x 201 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
- Fishing on the Tisza (after. 1880)
(Oil on canvas, 153,5 x 49 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
- Waterside Scene in Luminescent Haze
(Oil on canvas, 29,5 x 48 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
- Waterside Scene with Figure
(Oil on canvas, 85,5 x 99 cm, Private collection)
- Old Tramp (1880s)
(Oil on wood, 17,5 x 13 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
- Head of a Boy (c. 1890)
(Oil on wood, 41 x 31 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
- Angler (1890)
(Oil on wood, 27 x 21 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
- View of the Forest (1890–91)
(Oil on wood, 32,5 x 22,5 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
- Trees with Hoar-frost (c. 1892)
(Oil on canvas, 36,5 x 29 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
- Under the Cross (c. 1892)
(Oil on canvas, 34 x 50 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
- Landscape at Autumn (1890s)
(Oil on canvas, 101 x 74 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
- In the Garden
(Oil on canvas, 60 x 90 cm, Janus Pannonius Museum, Pécs)
- Peasant Lad
(Oil on canvas, 55 x 45 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
- Study of a Head (Nyuli)
(Oil on canvas, 47 x 32 cm, Private collection)
- View of Dunajec (1890–95)
(Oil on canvas, 98 x 73 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
- Iron Gate at the Danube (1890–95)
(Oil on canvas, 120 x 195 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
- Mountain Landscape with Lake
(Oil on canvas, 80 x 100 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
- Lake in the Mountains (1895–99)
(Oil on canvas, 33 x 41,5 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
- Thawing of Snow (1896–99)
(Oil on canvas, 120 x 140 cm, Dobó István Castle Museum, Eger)
- Head of a Tramp (c. 1896)
(Oil on wood, 45 x 34,5 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
- Absinth Drinker (c. 1898)
(Oil on canvas, 35 x 26,5 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
- Down-and-out (after 1898)
(Oil on canvas, 120 x 140 cm, Private collection)
- Houses by the River (after 1898)
(Oil on canvas, 40,5 x 61 cm, Private collection)
- Waterside House
(Oil on canvas, 72,5 x 100 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
- Old Man (1896–97)
(Oil on canvas, 100 x 70,5 cm, Private collection)
- Tramp Seated on a Bench (c. 1898)
(Oil on canvas, 70 x 100 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
- Man Seated Wearing Hat
(Oil on canvas, 34 x 26 cm, Private collection)
- After the Brawl (c. 1898)
(Oil on canvas, 85 x 65 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
- In the Tavern (after 1898)
(Oil on canvas, 162 x 130 cm, Private collection)
- Landscape in the Alps (View from the Rax) (c. 1900)
(Oil on canvas, 28,3 x 34,5 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
- Tramp with Cigar (c. 1900)
(Oil on canvas, 28,5 x 23 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest)
- Head of a Tramp with Light Hat (c. 1900)
(Oil on cardboard, 36,5 x 28 cm, Private collection)
- Winter (1906)
(Oil on wood, 25 x 30,5 cm, Private collection)
External links
- Works held in Slovak art collections
- Fine Arts in Hungary: Works by László Mednyánszky
- SNG online at www.sng.sk - Slovakian National Gallery Online: Ladislav Mednyánszky and Strážky