The directory «Artists»

Orlai Petrich Soma
(1822—1880)

Soma Orlai Petrich, a characteristic artist of the period of transition, painted My Mother, his most delicate picture of all, with which he exceeds the artistic approach of Barabás. He tried to emphasise deep and tense features of character portrayal which made him the predecessor of romanticism and realism, too. The majority of his works were, however, either historic or genre pictures. His favourite model was Sándor Petõfi the poet and a friend of his, who appeared in his genre pictures and portraits. Orlai Petrich's art was significant although his works created stir neither during his life, nor later.

Orlai Petrich who wanted to become a writer, was a pupil of Jakab Marastoni in 1846 and attended F. Waldmüller's school in Vienna from 1847. He painted "King István and the assassin", his first picture in the winter of 1847. In his lithographs he portrayed experiences during the war of independence. He painted his last Petõfi-portrait in Mezõberény. He studied at Kaulbach in Munich from 1850. He painted "The Corpse of Louis II" in 1851, a decade before Bertalan Székely. Later he lived on painting portraits in Debrecen.

After a short stay in Vienna, he painted several portraits, genre pictures and historic compositions ("Felicián Zách", "Béla, the Blind", "The Murder of Martinozzi", "Czillei and Hunyadi", "The National Assembly of Ónod", etc.). With the topic of the picture, "Milton Dictates his Daughter 'Paradise Lost'", he preceded Munkácsy by decades. He illustrated Petõfi's poems. Orlai Petrich, an artist who portrayed national targets on purpose became a significant figure of the reform age.

Hungary, 1919, Sándor Petõfi

Hungary, 1923, Sándor Petõfi

Hungary, 1949, Stamp with Petőfi

Hungary, 1949, Sándor Petõfi

Hungary, 1949, Sándor Petõfi

Hungary, 1949, Sándor Petõfi

Hungary, 1950, Sándor Petõfi

Hungary, 1950, Sándor Petõfi

Hungary, 1950, Sándor Petõfi

Hungary, 1952, Petõfi addressing the people

Hungary, 1967, Milton by Orlai Petrich