Count Mihaly von Zichy
(1827 - 1906)
The greatest Hungarian master of drawing, Zichy, became famous first of all for his illustrations. He was concerned with the major problems of humanity, and was a supporter of universal progress. It was not surprising that he identified himself whh Byron, Lermontov, Goethe's "Faust", Imre Madach's "The Tragedy of Man", Sandor Petofi's revolutionary poems and Janos Arany's "Welsh Bards". At the same time he was the court painter to the Russian Czars, who crushed thc revolutionary movements in Europe. Theophile Gautier considered him a genius, Victor Hugo was a friend of his, and he won commissions all over Europe. In Hungary the reactionary official circles denied him a job.
The Hungarian National Gallery