László Mednyánszky

Baron László Mednyánszky, also known by his Latinized name Ladislaus Josephus Balthasar Eustachius Mednyánszky (; 23 April 1852 – 17 April 1919), was a Hungarian painter and philosopher, considered one of the most enigmatic figures in the history of Hungarian art. Despite an aristocratic 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 the Kingdom of Hungary. He is also known as a painter of scenes from Upper Hungarian/Slovak folklore.

Biography

Mednyánszky was born in Beckó, Kingdom of Hungary, Austrian Empire (present-day Beckov, Slovakia), to Baron Eduárd Mednyánszky and Mária Anna Mednyánszky (née Szirmay), both of whom came from landowning families. He came from a Hungarian noble family. The Mednyánszky family dates back to the Árpád era. After the Galician campaign of King Andrew II of Hungary, they accompanied the king to Hungary and subsequently settled in Upper Hungary. Some say he was of Slovak origin, however, according to others, he was born into a Hungarian family with Polish and Hungarian

Political views He tried to establish an association against the Pan-Slav agitators with the Hungarian politician Béla Grünwald. Grünwald banned Matica Slovenska. This association had a few thousand members. 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 Margit Czóbel in 1972. Many 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 seventy 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 Mednyánszky's diary.

List of works Marshland (1880) (Oil on canvas, 28 × 42 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest) Night Travellers at a Cross (Nocni Putnici pri Krizi, 1880) (Tempera on panel, 244 cm × 94.5 cm, Slovak National Gallery, Bratislava) Osiery with Cows (c. 1880) (Oil on canvas, 40 × 60 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest) Watering (c. 1880) (Oil on canvas, 114 × 201 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest) Fishing on the Tisza (after 1880) (Oil on canvas, 153.5 × 49 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest) Waterside Scene in Luminescent Haze (Oil on canvas, 29.5 × 48 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest) Waterside Scene with Figure (Oil on canvas, 85.5 × 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 × 31 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest) Angler (1890) (Oil on wood, 27 × 21 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest) View of the Forest (1890–91) (Oil on wood, 32.5 × 22,5 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest) Trees with Hoar-frost (c. 1892) (Oil on canvas, 36.5 × 29 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest) Under the Cross (c. 1892) (Oil on canvas, 34 × 50 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest) Landscape at Autumn (1890s) (Oil on canvas, 101 × 74 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest) In the Garden (Oil on canvas, 60 × 90 cm, Janus Pannonius Museum, Pécs) Peasant Lad (Oil on canvas, 55 × 45 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest) Study of a Head (Nyuli) (Oil on canvas, 47 × 32 cm, Private collection) View of Dunajec (1890–95) (Oil on canvas, 98 × 73 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest) 'Iron Gate at the Danube (1890–95) (Oil on canvas, 120 × 195 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest) Mountain Landscape with Lake (Oil on canvas, 80 × 100 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest) Lake in the Mountains (1895–99) (Oil on canvas, 33 × 41,5 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest) Thawing of Snow (1896–99) (Oil on canvas, 120 × 140 cm, Dobó István Castle Museum, Eger) Head of a Tramp (c. 1896) (Oil on wood, 45 × 34.5 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest) Absinth Drinker (c. 1898) (Oil on canvas, 35 × 26.5 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest) Down-and-out (after 1898) (Oil on canvas, 120 × 140 cm, Private collection) Houses by the River (after 1898) (Oil on canvas, 40.5 × 61 cm, Private collection) Waterside House (Oil on canvas, 72.5 × 100 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest) Old Man (1896–97) (Oil on canvas, 100 × 70,5 cm, Private collection) Tramp Seated on a Bench (c. 1898) (Oil on canvas, 70 × 100 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest) Man Seated Wearing Hat (Oil on canvas, 34 × 26 cm, Private collection) After the Brawl (c. 1898) (Oil on canvas, 85 × 65 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest) In the Tavern (after 1898) (Oil on canvas, 162 × 130 cm, Private collection) Landscape in the Alps (View from the Rax) (c. 1900) (Oil on canvas, 28,3 × 34.5 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest) Tramp with Cigar (c. 1900) (Oil on canvas, 28.5 × 23 cm, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest) Head of a Tramp with Light Hat (c. 1900) (Oil on cardboard, 36.5 × 28 cm, Private collection) Winter (1906) (Oil on wood, 25 × 30.5 cm, Private collection)

Gallery