Simon Hollósy (2 February 1857 – 8 May 1918) was a Hungarian painter. He was considered one of the greatest Hungarian representatives of 19th-century Naturalism and Realism. Hollósy was not highly productive as an artist and was more important as an influential teacher, who influenced the painters of the Nagybánya artists' colony. Together, they were significant in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Hungarian art. In 1966 the Hungarian National Gallery had a major exhibition of the colony's work: ''The Art of Nagybánya. Centennial Exhibition in Celebration of the Artists' Colony in Nagybánya''.Valerie Majoros, "Lajos Tihanyi and his friends in the Paris of the nineteen-thirties"
''French Cultural Studies'', 2000, Vol. 11:387, Footnote, p. 388, Sage Publications, accessed 30 January 2013

Early life and education

Simon Hollósy was born in 1857 in Máramarossziget,

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

(today Sighetu Marmaţiei,

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

), in the historic region of Maramureș. His parents were

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

who had migrated to the area. He early expressed a talent and interest in art. As a young man, he went to

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

to study, as did many artists from Hungary because there was no academy of fine arts there. Hollósy criticized the training at the Munich Academy, which was strongly based on copying classical models. He founded a private school where he gave free classes, attracting young talents who were interested in realistic portrayal. He opened the way to new styles by relying on his personality and by pointing out the merits of French painters, such as

Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( ; ; ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and the ...

, who exhibited in the city. He abandoned the academic style in order to follow new trends in French painting, including

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

. He also "admired Jules Breton, Jules Bastien-Lepage and read Zola, Murger, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky".Julia Szabo, "European Art Centers and Hungarian Art (1890-1919)"
''Hungarian Studies'', 1994, Vol.19, No.1-2, p.42, accessed 2 February 2013 He was more important as a teacher than a painter. His large-scale plan of ''Rákóczi March,'' never progressed much beyond sketches, as he kept changing his mind. His landscapes painted in Técső include ''Landscape in Técső'', ''Landscape with Stacks'' and ''Sunset with Stacks,'' in which he applied elements of ''

en plein air ''En plein air'' (; French language, French for 'outdoors'), or plein-air painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein ai ...

'' and

. His self-portrait (1916), held by the

Hungarian National Gallery The Hungarian National Gallery (also known as Magyar Nemzeti Galéria, ), 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 w ...

, is considered one of his most harrowing pictures. Encouraged by István Réti and János Thorma, his pupils and friends, Hollósy spent the summer of 1896 in Nagybánya (today Baia Mare,

) with his school. That is considered the founding of the Nagybánya artists' colony, of which the painter Károly Ferenczy was another important early member. The more rural location provided many chances for painting outdoors. These artists and their followers played an important role in introducing impressionism and post-impressionism to Hungarian painting. Hollósy soon settled down in Nagybánya. With its naturalistic style and emphasis on ''

plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or plein-air painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting is c ...

'' techniques, his school determined much of Hungarian painting for decades. Hollósy left the Nagybánya colony in 1901. The following year, he began to spend the summers in Técső (today Tiachiv,

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, in the historic Maramureș region) with those students who followed him. During the winters, Hollósy returned to Munich to run his school there.

Legacy and honours

*In 1966 the Hungarian National Gallery had a major exhibition of the colony's work: ''The Art of Nagybánya. Centennial Exhibition in Celebration of the Artists' Colony in Nagybánya''. *A large number of paintings by Simon Hollosy are in the Hungarian National Gallery.

Exhibits

*2009
"Munich in Hungarian, Hungarian Artists in Munich 1850–1914, 2 Oct. 2009 – Jan. 2010"

. *1991–1992, ''Standing in the Storm: The Hungarian Avant-Garde from 1908–1930'', Santa Barbara Museum of Art,

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

.''Standing in the Storm: The Hungarian Avant-Garde from 1908-1930''
''Hungarian Studies'', Vol. 19, No. 1-2, 1994, accessed 2 February 2013

Selected paintings

Hollósy, Simon - Girl with a Large Green Hat (ca 1900).jpg, Girl with a Large Green Hat, ca. 1900 Hollósy, Simon - Springtime Mood (Bank of the River Tisza, 1916).jpg, Springtime Mood (Banks of the

Tisza River The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa (see below) is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. It was once called "the most Hungarian river" because it used to flow entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national bo ...

), 1912 Hollósy, Simon - After the Harvest (1908).jpg, After the Harvest, 1908 Hollósy, Simon - Haystacks II (1912).jpg, Haystacks II, 1912 Hollósy Tengerihántás 1885.JPG, Corn Husking, 1885 Hollósy Zrínyi kirohanása.jpg, Zrínyi's Charge on the Turks, 1896

References

External links