Mihály Munkácsy,  Hungarian 1844-1900-  Study of the Head o

Lot description

Mihály Munkácsy, Hungarian 1844-1900- Study of the Head of a Pharisee, for 'Christ before Pilate'; oil on panel, signed 'M. Munkacsy' (lower left), bears a statement from the Hungarian National Gallery Panel (Magyar Nemzeti Galéria Birálati Csoport) dated 27 July 1987 and numbered 5027 attached verso, bears another printed label reading 'Magyar Nemzeti Galéria / Birálati csoport / Birálati szám: / 5184' and a separate hand-written label indistinctly inscribed in Hungarian attached verso, bears export stamp from the Hungarian National Gallery reading 'Kivitelre Engedélyezve MNG' [permitted to export, Hungarian National Gallery] verso, 41.3 x 32.8 cm. Literature: Lajos Vegvari, 'Katalog der Gemälde und Zeichnungen Mihály Munkácsys', Akademiai Kiadó, 1959, no.296 (illustrated). Note: Végvári Lajos details the present work as a study for the Head of a Pharisee, executed in 1880, for Munkácsy's 'Christ before Pilate'. The final composition, completed in 1881, is now in the collection of the Hungarian National Gallery [FK4812]. This was the first of three large-scale works on Biblical themes commissioned by the art dealer Charles Sedelmeyer (1837-1925), followed by 'Golgotha' (1884) and Ecce Homo (1896). Munkácsy studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna under Carl Rahl (1812-1865) in 1865, the Munich Academy in 1866, and the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in 1878 where he was taught by Ludwig Knaus (1829-1910). He was best known for his dramatic Biblical and history scenes, many of which were nevertheless imparted with an element of realism which exhibits the impact of the Düsseldorf and Barbizon Schools of painting, both of which heavily influenced Munkácsy's output over the course of his career.