THE ROLE OF VIENNA IN THE LIFE OF MIHÁLY MUNKÁCSY, THE FIRST WORLD FAMOUS HUNGARIAN PAINTER

Abstract

This paper deals with the early stage of the career of Mihály Munkácsy, who was a Hungarian painter living in the 19th century. Our work analyses Munkácsy’s stay in Vienna that is largely neglected or even ignored in the existing literature. This is the first attempt to document the year 1865 in Munkácsy’s life on the basis of personal letters of the painter. This paper summarises three years of research in archives in Vienna and Hungary. But this paper is of interest not only as a contribution to the existing literature, but also because Mihály Munkácsy was the first Hungarian painter who became world famous in his time