László Báró Mednyanszky (Ladislav Medňanský) (1852-1919)

PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG MAN

1880–1890
Oil on canvas, 38x30 cm, signed lower right "Mednyánszky". Matted, framed, glazed. According to the attached appraisal, this is a typical Medňanský`s portrait referring to his inclination towards strong physical types of men as a counterpoint to his own frail physical constitution. The first examples of processing these themes appeared in his work already in the 1870s and 1880s. He chose ordinary types from lower social classes, such as peasants or workers. He focused on capturing the physiognomy and character of the depicted person, the background in contrasting dark color only sketched around the head, leaving the rest of the surface typically unfinished. Condition B/C. With and expert opinion by Mgr. Katarína Beňová, Ph,D. from 2016.