János Nagy Balogh

János Nagy Balogh (2 August 1874, Budapest – 22 November 1919, Budapest) was a Hungarian painter and graphic artist who specialized in proletarian subjects.

Biography He came from a humble, working-class family. His father died early and his mother had to support the family doing laundry, so he spent much of his youth in poverty. Later, he was apprenticed to a Master Painter whose drunken, abusive behavior made him seek a way to escape, so he began saving his money with the goal of becoming an artist.

Originally, he enrolled at the "School of Fine and Applied Arts", where he attended night classes while supporting himself by house-painting. In 1899, he was able to spend a few months in Munich, attending classes taught by Ludwig von Herterich at the Academy of Fine Arts, but his financial necessities continued to prevent him from attending daytime classes so he ended up being essentially self-taught and able to paint only in his spare time.

At first, he developed his style by painting still lifes, self-portraits and portraits of his mother, engaged in household chores. Then, perhaps under the influence of Jean-François Millet, he decided to focus on painting the workers he knew so well from his youth. For many years, he remained reluctant to show his works in public or part with them. What little money he earned from working went mostly to painting supplies. He eventually became a local "character", who was readily recognizable by the very old, floppy hat he always wore.

In 1915, he joined the Army and received a wound that resulted in his right arm being paralyzed, but he continued to work as best he could with his left hand.

Other selected paintings