Mihály Munkácsy, (b. 1844, Munkács, d. 1900, Endenich)
Detail; Hungarian Conquest, between 1890 and 1893
Oil on canvas
Height: 84 cm (33 in); Width: 253 cm (99.6 in)
Hungarian National Gallery
Munkácsy was a bureaucrat of Bavarian origin. After being apprenticed to itinerant painter Elek Szamossy, Munkácsy went to Pest (Budapest), where he sought the patronage of established artists. With the help of the landscape artist Antal Ligeti, he received a state grant to study abroad. In 1865, he studied at the Academy of Vienna under Karl Rahl. In 1866, he studied at the Munich Academy, and in 1868 he moved to the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf to study with the popular genre painter Ludwig Knaus. In 1867, he travelled to Paris to see the Universal Exposition.
Mihály Munkácsy, (b. 1844, Munkács, d. 1900, Endenich)
Biboulous Husband, c. 1872-73
Oil on wood
108 x 150 cm
Magyar Nemzeti Galéria, Budapest
When the picture was painted, newspapers and plays in the 19th c. had a favourite subject matter: a peasant who comes home drunk. Readers and spectators followed the events with laughter when the staggering husband argued cheekily with his shrewish wife. Munkácsy did not consider the subject matter as humorous. His approach shows seriousness and sympathy and this scene. The husband only wanted to have a good time that night. His wife knows that and is not quarrelling, she is feeding her smallest child. But what is going to happen to them in the future? The husband's friend who accompanied him home prepared a speech in protection of the husband. More on this painting
The silent drama is highlighted by whites contrasting with dark colours, blues, browns and dark reds, recalling the atmosphere of aroom in a peasant home.
After his Paris trip, his style became lighter, with broader brushstrokes and tonal colour schemes -
In his early career Munkácsy painted mainly scenes from the daily lives of peasants and poor people. First he followed the colourful, theatrical style of contemporary Hungarian genre painters (e. g. Károly Lotz, János Jankó), for example in The Cauldron (1864) or Easter Merrymaking (1865). In the next years he paid more attention to the landscape around his figures (Storm in the Puszta, 1867). From the Düsseldorf genre painters he learnt to represent different emotions in his figures and to treat them as a group.
Mihály Munkácsy, (b. 1844, Munkács, d. 1900, Endenich)
The Condemned Cell I, c. 1880
Oil on canvas
Height: 119 cm (46.8 in); Width: 170.5 cm (67.1 in)
Hungarian National Gallery
The outlaw's life and figure was a major concern for Munkácsy ever since his childhood. It is known from his "Memoirs" that he suffered much during the years of apprenticeship and that he always wanted to see a living outlaw as a symbol of free life even if he had to wait for him under a table in the inn.
In the drama of "Condemned Cell", he painted the embarrassed apprentice. Munkácsy had followed the life of his hero in his earliest genre pictures painted in 1867 or illustrations for journals. He needed an immense amount of skill in order to paint a true picture of a man condemned to death who had been given proper food and looked after for three days, and then his family, friends and enemies were to come to say good-bye to him. His wife is sobbing her heart out in a corner, his little daughter is pottering about not knowing what is going on and she is munching something. The outlaw must have resigned to his lot and has nothing more to expect of life: he throws the Bible to the ground. A patch of the blue sky becomes visible behind the bars. More on this painting
Mihály Munkácsy, (b. 1844, Munkács, d. 1900, Endenich)
The Condemned Cell II, c. 1880
Oil on canvas
119 x 170,5 cm
Magyar Nemzeti Galéria, Budapest
"The Condemned Cell I" brought the first great success for Munkácsy in 1869. Later he produced several version of this theme. This second one differs from the first only in its size.
Munkácsy painted this canvas during the years he spent at the Munich art academy, where the psychological approach was very fashionable a that time. Having assimilated this trend, Munkácsy depicted the event with emotionally differentiated facial expressions and gestures. The bright white paint in the dark basic colour of the picture generates a grim effect - in accordance with the mental state of the characters. The use of many characters and their arrangement is theatrical to a certain degree - and in this respect the picture is reminiscent of the anedotical German genre style - nevertheless, its honest way of rendering and its sensitivity for the issues of this age make this painting a true masterpiece of Realism. More on this painting
In 1869, Munkácsy painted his much acclaimed work The Last Day of a Condemned Man (See above), considered his first masterpiece. The picture was rewarded with the Gold Medal of the Paris Salon in 1870. It made Munkácsy a popular painter in an instant. It suggests torture caused by oppression, moral uncertainty and reactions to an impending tragic end in visual form. However, it aptly captures the capabilities of the Hungarian master in painting.
Mihály Munkácsy, (b. 1844, Munkács, d. 1900, Endenich)
Making Lint, c. 1871
Medium oil on panel
Height: 141.3 cm (55.6 in); Width: 196 cm (77.1 in)
Hungarian National Gallery
Although lint may present a hazard in the household, it also means that lint makes excellent tinder for starting fires. It is especially useful for catching sparks from flint and steel, or similar striker-type fire starters in the absence of matches.
Lint was used as a form of wound treatment for cuts and sores as early as 1500 BC and as recently as the American Civil War.[30] Lint used specifically for treating wounds was sometimes referred to as charpie. More on lint
Munkácsy moved to Paris, where he lived until the end of his life. He continued to paint genre pictures like Making Lint (1871) (See above) and Woman Gathering Brushwood (1873) (See below). The zenith of his career was between 1873 and 1875, when he painted Tramps at Night (See below), Farewell, Churning Woman (See below), and Pawnshop (See below).
Mihály Munkácsy, (b. 1844, Munkács, d. 1900, Endenich)
Tramps at Night, c. 1872-73
Oil on wood
162 x 220 cm
Magyar Nemzeti Galéria, Budapest
Memories from Hungary engaged Munkácsy during his period in Munich and it was the drama of these experiences which brought him success in Europe. Munkácsy's nerves were shattered at that time: he was afraid that he would not be able to paint any more. Passionate experiences vanished but he had other subject matters to concentrate on. The contours of house in this picture indicates a German town. The major figure in fetters is Hungarian, he looks like Munkácsy's tramp. Embarressment on the faces and in the gestures of market women is so lively as if Munkácsy painted a genre-picture and characters in the country in Hungary.
The mother, another well-known figure from his pictures, embraces her child protectively. The red-haired man with a hump is raising his eyebrows and is trying to find out what is going on. The bearded outlaw with a hat is probably not fettered for the first time in his life: he despises people who are shocked around him. More on this painting
Mihály Munkácsy, (b. 1844, Munkács, d. 1900, Endenich)
Woman Gathering Brushwood, c. 1873
Oil on wood
99.7 × 80.3 cm
Hungarian National Gallery
Woman Carrying Brushwood shows a woman by a trail in the forest, resting from picking and carrying brushwood. The depiction of work-weary people without any beautifying is typical of realism, a style that can also be related to Barbizon. Munkácsy’s painting is slightly melancholic, though the tired face, the stooped body and the rendering of the hand are tools of a representation devoid of idealization. More on this painting
Mihály Munkácsy, (b. 1844, Munkács, d. 1900, Endenich)
Churning Woman (sketch), c. between 1871 and 1872
Oil on canvas
Height: 76 cm (29.9 in); Width: 59.2 cm (23.3 in)
Private collection
Mihály Munkácsy, (b. 1844, Munkács, d. 1900, Endenich)
Woman Churning Butter, c. between 1872 and 1873
Oil on canvas
Height: 120.5 cm (47.4 in); Width: 100 cm (39.3 in)
Hungarian National Gallery
Mihály Munkácsy, (b. 1844, Munkács, d. 1900, Endenich)
Pawnshop, c. 1874
Oil on canvas
Height: 160 cm (62.9 in); Width: 215 cm (84.6 in)
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
In the late 1870s he also worked in Barbizon and painted fresh, richly coloured landscapes, such as Dusty Road, Corn Field, Walking in the Woods, Avenue and The Colpach Park. His realist portraits, including of Franz Liszt and of Cardinal Haynald, were also made during this time.
Mihály Munkácsy, (b. 1844, Munkács, d. 1900, Endenich)
Milton, c. 1877-78
Oil on canvas
210 x 300 cm
Public Library, New York
Artistically not satisfied with just painting salon pictures and landscape. Munkácsy longed for more profound themes. The painting "Milton" was the result of this search. Munkácsy depicted the blind poet dictating the text of "Paradise Lost" to his daughters Eve, Judith and Rachel. By portraying Milton, Munkácsy chose to talk about the deepness of human suffering, and about the painful and strugglesome life of the creative people. The wonderful colours of this painting evoke the brilliance of his salon pictures. More on this painting
In 1878, he painted a historical genre picture, The Blind Milton Dictating Paradise Lost to his Daughters (See above), which marked a new milestone in his oeuvre. It is set in a richly furnished room. The picture was bought by Austrian-born art dealer Charles Sedelmeyer, who offered Munkácsy a ten-year contract. This deal made Munkácsy wealthy and an established member of the Paris art world.
Mihály Munkácsy, (b. 1844, Munkács, d. 1900, Endenich)
Christ in front of Pilate, c. 1881
Oil on canvas
Height: 417 cm (13.6 ft); Width: 636 cm (20.8 ft)
Hungarian National Gallery
Mihály Munkácsy, (b. 1844, Munkács, d. 1900, Endenich)
Golgotha, c. 1884
Oil on canvas
Height: 460 cm (15 ft); Width: 712 cm (23.3 ft)
Déri Museum, Debrecen (loan)
Munkácsy had been working on the second picture of the trilogy for some time when he had himself put on the cross to feel the pain Christ must have felt. After 15 sketches and studies, the picture was ready by the Easter of 1884.
The painting was first exhibited in Budapest on September 1884. Munkácsy said that he had been thinking of painting a new picture on resurrection to make the trilogy complete. This plan could not be carried out because church leaders failed to raise enough money to keep both pictures in Hungary.
The huge space of the landscape almost swallows both groups of people: in the one group, Christ and the mourners are portrayed, and in the other a group on-lookers and passers-by can be seen. An uninterested Jewish joiner, a Jew who is running away and beating his breast, and an Arab rider, a mysterious, yet symbolic figure. The merits of the picture lie in expressive colours and the portrayal of landscape. The sky reflects the drama in a threatening way which cannot be helped and of which all evangelists reported briefly. More on this painting
Mihály Munkácsy, (b. 1844, Munkács, d. 1900, Endenich)
Ecce Homo, c. 1896
Oil on canvas
Height: 403 cm (13.2 ft); Width: 650 cm (21.3 ft)
Déri Museum, Hungary
The second episode in the chonology of the Bible was painted as the third picture of Munkácsy's trilogy. Munkácsy's choice of subject matter was probably influenced by "The Governor of Judaea", a short story by Anatole France and by Munkácsy's impaired health and mental status. All this urged him to paint the second and painful meeting of Christ and Pilate instead of Christ's glorious resurrection or ascension.
Pilate introduces him to his people by saying, "Ecce Homo!". Christ is not guilty according to the laws of Rome, Pilate says to the people who respond to Pilate's words with gestures. The gestures of men are rude and indicate attack, while those of women are gentle and protective. Munkácsy's contemporaries identified Mary, John, the Evangelist, the penitent Magdalene, Nicodemus, Joseph of Arithea and Judas in the picture.
A gallery was built for it with skylights where the picture has been on show since 1930. In 1993 "Golgota" and in 1995 "Christ in Front of Pilate" were placed on both sides of "Ecce Homo". Thus, efforts to unite the three pictures proved to be successful, although the exhibition of the trilogy is only a temporary one. More on this painting
Sedelmeyer wanted Munkácsy to paint large-scale pictures which could be exhibited on their own. They decided that a subject taken from the Bible would be most suitable. In 1882 Munkácsy painted Christ in front of Pilate (See above), followed by Golgotha in 1884 (See above). The trilogy was completed with Ecce Homo in 1896 (See above).
Mihály Munkácsy, (b. 1844, Munkács, d. 1900, Endenich)
Baby Visitors, c. 1879
Oil on wood
110 x 150 cm
Magyar Nemzeti Galéria, Budapest
In "Baby Visitors" (See above) the young mother and her new-born baby are visited by girl-friends, but the real topic of the picture is the luxurious interior of the bourgeois salon and the elegant dress of the ladies. The wonderful richness of colours is the greatest merit of this painting. From the time of the salon paintings his entire oeuvre was characterized by this brilliance; the grim and dark pictures were replaced by bright and joyful paintings. The colours of this painting represent the high quality of Munkácsy's colourism. More on this painting
Mihály Munkácsy, (b. 1844, Munkács, d. 1900, Endenich)
“The Father’s Birthday,” 1882
Oil on canvas
Collection of Imre Pákh
Mihály Munkácsy, (b. 1844, Munkács, d. 1900, Endenich)
The Two Families, c. 1880
Oil on panel
41¾ x 59 1/8 in. (106.5 x 150.3 cm.)
Munkácsy did not abandon genre painting, but his settings changed. In the 1880s he painted many salon pictures, set in lavishly furnished homes of rich people. His most often depicted subjects were motherhood (Baby's Visitors, 1879) (See above), the happy moments of domestic life (The Father's Birthday, 1882) (See above), children and animals (Two Families in the Salon, 1880) (See above). His elegantly dressed, dainty young women also appear in landscape settings (Three Ladies in the Park, 1886). These pictures were extremely popular (especially among US buyers) and fetched high prices. Beside these urban subjects Munkácsy also continued to paint rural scenes and dramatic, intensely emotional landscapes.
Mihály Munkácsy (–1900)
Hungarian Conquest, between 1890 and 1893
Oil on canvas
Height: 84 cm (33 in); Width: 253 cm (99.6 in)
Hungarian National Gallery
Towards the end of his career he painted two monumental works: Hungarian Conquest for the House of Parliament (See above), and a fresco, Apotheosis of Renaissance, for the ceiling of Kunsthistoriches Museum in Vienna.
He was commissioned to paint the large ceiling painting of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. The work, completed in 1888, was titled Glorification of the Renaissance.
Although Munkácsy, who was very conscious about earthly comfort and social prestige, became a celebrity, he was always unsure and always questioning his own talent. By the 1890s, his depression grew into a severe mental illness which was probably intensified by the syphilis which he contracted in his youth. His last pictures are troubled and sometimes even bizarre (e.g. Victim of Flowers, 1896) (See below).
Mihály Munkácsy (–1900)
Victim of Flowers, c. 1896
Oil on panel
Height: 84.5 cm (33.2 in); Width: 100 cm (39.3 in)
Hungarian National Gallery
Towards the end of his life when disease was demanding more and more of his energy and finally darkness descended on his mind, he completed two pictures involving several figures. In one of them, Strike (1896), he illustrated the subject of the picture, rather unusual at his time, in a new style of character portrayal with the old passionate approach only superficially present.
Mihály Munkácsy, (b. 1844, Munkács, d. 1900, Endenich)
Strike, c. 1895
Oil on wood
83 × 130 cm
Hungarian National Gallery
In the summer of 1896 Munkácsy's health sharply declined. After treatment in Baden-Baden, he retired to Colpach and Paris. Later he was taken to a mental hospital at Endenich near Bonn. He collapsed and died there on 1 May 1900. More on Mihály Munkácsy
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