Museum Masterpieces [Part.2]

Gyula Benczúr (Hungarian painter, 1844-1920) | Narcissus, 1881 | Hungarian National Gallery

Gyula Benczúr, a contemporary of Mihály Munkácsyand Pál Szinyei Merse, was a consistently outstanding exponent of academicism from his time at the Academy in Munich, and later a much feted artist in Budapest.

He was accomplished in every aspect of painting that could be learned from studying the works of his Renaissance and Baroque forebears.

These skills, encompassing composition and the precise, sensual depiction of details, are demonstrated in his Narcissus of 1881.

Surprisingly, however, Benczúr’s treatment of this Ovidian theme deviates from the traditional iconography.

In the images of Narcissus, the mythological youth who fell in love with himself is usually shown lying or crouching by a stream, admiring his reflection in the water.

Here, he is posing like a ballet dancer, a giddy expression on his face, immersing his left arm in a basin rimmed by a wall. | The Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest

Emile Auguste Pinchart (French painter, 1842-1924) | Imaginaire d'automne, 1874 | Sotheby's New York

Auguste-Émile Pinchart, or Émile-Auguste Pinchart (10 August 1842, Cambrai - November 1920, Tunis) was a French painter and designer who is best remembered for his Orientalist scenes.

Gyula Benczúr (1844-1920) Hungarian painter - Woman Reading in a Forest

Emile-Othon Friesz (1879-1949) French painter - The Pont Neuf in Paris, 1902

Andrea del Sarto [1486, Florence - 1530, Florence], Italian painter - Portrait of Baccio Bandinelli, 16th century

Anne Vallayer-Coster (French painter, 1744-1818) - Bouquet of flowers in a blue porcelain vase, 1776

Bernardo Bellotto called Canaletto (c. 1721/2 -1780) - Veduta del mercato vecchio a Dresda (1749-1752)

Bernardo Bellotto called Canaletto (c. 1721/2 -1780) - View of Pirna from the Fortress of Sonnenstein (c. 1753-1755)

Buono Leon Giuseppe (Pozzuoli, NA 1887-1975) Lirismo del tramonto

Buono Leon Giuseppe (Pozzuoli, NA 1887-1975) Marina di Portici

Buono Leon Giuseppe (Pozzuoli, NA 1887-1975) Marina di Pozzuoli