György Vastagh (12 April 1834 in

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

– 21 February 1922 in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

) was a Hungarian portrait and genre painter.

Biography

His father was a shipping administrator, but had artistic leanings, which influenced György to start painting when he was still a boy. After returning home from fighting in the Hungarian Revolution, his talent was noticed by a piano teacher who lived nearby, and he began taking his first lessons from a local artist. In 1854 he went to Vienna, where he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and came under the influence of

Carl Rahl Carl Rahl, sometimes spelled Karl Rahl (13 August 1812 – 9 July 1865), was an Austrian painter. Life Rahl was born in Vienna to Carl Heinrich Rahl (1779–1843), an engraver. He attended the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and won a prize at ...

and

Friedrich von Amerling Friedrich Ritter von Amerling (14 April 1803 – 14 January 1887) was an Austrian portrait painter in the court of Franz Joseph I of Austria, Franz Josef. He was born in Vienna and was court painter between 1835 and 1880. With Ferdinand Georg ...

. While there, he mostly produced portraits and religiously themed works. In 1857, he settled in

Kolozsvár Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

, shared a studio with his friend, the photographer Ferenc Veress, and got married.Biography of Vastagh, György the Elder
from Fine Arts in Hungary At first, he still painted mostly portraits, but soon turned to

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

scenes on rural subjects. He refused two offers of government scholarships (one from

József Eötvös Baron József Eötvös de Vásárosnamény (pronunciation: jɔ:ʒef 'øtvøʃ dɛ 'va:ʃa:rɔʃnɒme:ɲ 3 September 1813 – 2 February 1871) was a Hungarian writer and statesman, the son of Ignác baron Eötvös de Vásárosnamény and ...

) because he did not want to feel obligated to the Alexander Bach administration. During this time, he made numerous visits to Vienna and began to participate in exhibitions there. In 1876 he moved, this time taking his family to Budapest, where he set up a portrait studio that catered to aristocratic clientele. Among his sitters at that time were

Lajos Kossuth Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva (; ; ; ; 19 September 1802 – 20 March 1894) was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, politician, statesman and governor-president of the Kingdom of Hungary during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, r ...

, Emperor

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

and the Emperor's wife Elisabeth. For almost three decades, he served as the

court painter A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...

to the Archduke Joseph Karl Ludwig. In 1883, he painted a portion of the ceiling

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

in the foyer of the Hungarian State Opera. He also painted altarpieces in Budapest, Szeged, Arad and Temesvár. In 1894, he became one of the founders of the "Magyar Művészek és Műpártolók Egyesülete" (Hungarian Association of Artists and Patrons) and shortly after helped to organize the National Salon for their exhibitions. He was the first in what would become a family of artists. His eldest son

Géza Géza () is a Hungarian given name and may refer to any of the following: As regnal or forename * Géza, Grand Prince of the Hungarians * Géza I of Hungary, King of Hungary * Géza II of Hungary, King of Hungary * Géza, son of Géza II of Hungar ...

was also a painter, who specialized in animals, and his namesake son György was a sculptor. His grandchildren and were also sculptors."120 év a művészet szolgálatában - A Vastagh művészcsalád" (120 Years in the Service of Art)
@ Mucsarnok.hu

Selected paintings

File:Vastagh György Udvarlás.jpg, Courtship File:Vastagh Kárvallott cigány.jpg, The Unfortunate Gypsies File:Készül a vacsora.jpg, Dinner File:Vastagh Portrait of Lajos Kossuth.jpg, Portrait of

References

External links

ArtNet: more works by Vastagh

@ Művészet {{DEFAULTSORT:Vastagh, Gyorgy 1834 births 1922 deaths Painters from Austria-Hungary Genre painters 19th-century Hungarian painters 20th-century Hungarian painters Hungarian male painters 19th-century Hungarian male artists 20th-century Hungarian male artists

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links