Historical Scene By Gyula Batthyany, Hungarian

Please find here a colorful historical scene by Hungarian painter and graphic artist Gyula Batthyány (1887-1959). Batthyány is known for his vivid, sometimes unusual depictions of aristocratic life and portrayals of women. In his work, he mixed different styles: decorative surrealism, art deco, art nouveau. This historical scene from the 1930s is a fine example of his work.

Batthyany studied at the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts under János Vaszary and later under Angelo Jank in Munich. Batthyany traveled all over the world; among other places, he worked in Florence and Naples for many years. After the First World War he visited Asia, Egypt, Tunis, Madeira and the Canary Islands and therefore spent much time in England and America. He established an artists' colony on his estate in Bicske in 1922 and co-directed a painting school in Eger and Pecs with István Pekary in the 1930s.

Batthyany made numerous illustrations, sets and costumes for the National Theatre. The painter was against National Socialism during World War II. After the war, he was exiled from his castle and lived in the house of his former servants. In 1953, he was sentenced to up to eight years in prison on false charges and deprived of his assets. Gyula Batthyany died in 1959 in a psychiatric hospital in Budapest, Hungary.

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