The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-06-24

n.nnllon Trnih.I

Michael MunkacSy hss no fisue '" -
PLAIN OF the world. II has been very goou
TO him. Universal suffrage has proc's',,nc'u !,
him a man OF genius dong mni'" a., =
Judged Alright. Gentle and simp'e. ~,
artist and the untutored visitor 10 pic'o' 30,
exhibitions take equal deiignt y. ~,
works. His faculties are wen po'seu a., a.
of such a rich order as 10 pl're "'n'
on a level with the great o'nnn.,s
well as with the mos. ""s. . ~
artists OF the century. lie no.
much self-made rs result y, 81 $500
generations. II fortune iau nov i',o, 49,,
his attempts 10 rise, ne mus. nav. yn
hnwayer obscure and poveriy-stricken,
truly great. He got TO me Top 81 nv pio,
fassior, while Young. Although ne chinbeu
srom tho lowest r,mg Of the social ladder,
no aid NOT find the ascent painfully ardu'
ouse II was natural for him TO lace hard.
shin and 10 combat 1t, and he had robust
frame and elasticity. Munkaesy Is Hun,
with. n NAV be, Tsigane and Slay crosses.
He IL tall. and his bones and muscles are OF
powerful construction. Plebeian descent
L shown in the thick rebellious hair ana
strong beard. Men who labor in the iieids
10 live are less prone to badness than those
who liye to aml,se themselves or who WORK
more with their brains than with then
hands. Munkacsy's eyes are twinknhg
and vood-natured, and help The tongue,
which Is often embarrassed wheh rencs
"a snoken. To express the Thoughts and
feelings of the artist. lie rat'ies NJ
re. and speaks from his ehest anu
throat. In the presence OF strangers
his eve il furtive and searching. His man
ner Is SIMPLE. III near dog, he Is sure 10
stroke IL down. All the gorgeous illrni-
ture that surrounds him in his palaee I'D
the Avenue de Villiers should not De re-
parded as sign Of ostentation. lie boughl
II merely because he liked II, and can alloru
IN indulge i'm his tastes. Nine. Munkacsy
"a very rich: she fell in love Win tof
uaIpter. and made him an oiier OF nei
hand and fortune. The Hungarian artlsl
is her second husband. In summer ne re-
aides i'm a chateau that she brought hial'
not far from Metz. 80.
Munkacsy is very gray for man OF DIS
wears. be not being forty. Arad Is MS M
five town. In his childhood many EVENT.
happened in his family OF nature 10 sun
and stimulate his intellect and imagination.
An endemic swept of his father ano
mother. Although only four years old when
they died. he remembers how they were
carried away and their funeral. An aini
took COMPASSION on the child and undertook
TO rear him. As she was thrifty, and was re-
puted 10 have saved money. her cottage was
broken into ut night and she was murdered
by the burglars. Michael, the nephew, "is
then adopted by an uncle. But this pro
tector was torn away from his home Di
Austrian soldiers in 1919 ana shot Is Z
rebel. He was In sympathy with kosSutl
and G0rgy, but had not himself ever MADE
war against the Kaiser. As MunkacSy was
strong and intelligent, he found at the age
of nine employment in a carpenters work
shop. and there learned how 10 MAKE
trunks. To tempt poor people TO buy
hem he used to cover them with pant I
nps of his own design. A strong
aste was thus developed in him fof |
pictorial art. To be able to improve hf |
mind and learn how 10 draw correctly III |
vent to Pesth. There he worked by Gay |
II his trade, and at night attended free
mechanics school. A thirst for knowledge |
md desire to see more OF the woriu |
prompted him 10 remove TO Vienna. What
no saw in that metropolis decided his tate. |
His vocation became too strong TO he re- |
listed. SUNDAYS were entirely devoted 10 |
he education OF eve and intellect, ana |
he week was divided into days when |
Jobs were got through, ana
,tbers when his sole occupation was |
,ketching i'm museums and reading Ill u
,ublic library. French was one OF the |
bings he studied. He had notion that |
ne would succeed better in Paris than |
elsewhere. But there was no other way OF |
.eaching il unless by tramping along IRON
village TO village and town to town. When |
he tailed TO procure work, he got country |
TO lodge and board him In re- |
urn for portraits he engaged TO DO OF thein
md their families. From an early age ne
utilized his pencil in similar way. There
Il tailor at Arad whose house is decorated
with pictures done by Munkacsy IN return
for suits Of clothes.
Munich did not please the young Hun
garian genius. He disliked It's pseudo
Greek architecture. Nor did the royal
collection of pictures awaken his enthu-
siasm., The quaint old German towns
were more congenial to his taste. NJ Dus-
seldorf he came to understand that the
hest school for an artist Is not in museums,
but in the streets, market. place, and fieids
He learned that il was best TO trust to his
own inspiration, and to paint things Just a.
they impressed him. Condemned TO
DEATH was painted ut Dusseldorf. IL was
sent TO Paris, and without difficulty admit
ted to the Salon OF 1869. 1t was done
from recollections OF scene Witnessed IN
infancy. The Princess Metternich, who j
very jmpulsiye and fond OF her Hungarian
compatriots, blew the trumpet for the young
exhibitor. The public was fascinated by
the strong expression given, without uagl-
cal attitudes or contortions, 10 speeches.,
unutterable woe. The apparent decency
OF the convict suggested doubt as to his
guilt, and rendered his position narrowing
TO the spectator. Munkacsy had been ia
miliar from his cradle with that undemon-
stratiye tragedy which haunts the poor
quarters OF towns and cities. For some
years after he won name he only depicted
tbe suiferings Of the class in which he was
born.
Munkacsy had been eleven years regu-
lar artist when he obtained a medal Of
honor at the Universal Exhibition of 1878
for millions Daughters and "The Con-
scripts" Christ Before PLATE" is his
masterpiece. The painter est entire dams
Ia peda OF the different characters whom
he represents. by an effort OF the imagi-
nation he thought and felt as they each
might have doue at the State trial that took
place more than 300 years ago at Jerllsa-
lem. The faces well answer to the supposed
moral and mental conditions OF the divers
actors before the High Court Of Justice in
which Pontius Plate sat. Munkaesy entire
ly evolved this painting out OF his own
consciousness. II work OF pure reason,
imagination, and technical skill The ap-
parent ease comes from a great amount
of thought and that felicity which Lord
Bacon speaks OF. Munkacsy could feel
his head growing gray when he was en-
gagged In the composition Of this painting.
Asarnle, things done with labor are good
things done from inspiration are super
excellent.
Munkacsy resides In house built by
himself. IL Is vast, solid. rich, and Of. m
many respects, faneiful exterior. The
hungarian eye likes snowy magniiicene.