Géza Jenő Ferenc Vastagh (3 September 1866, in

Kolozsvár Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

– 5 November 1919, in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

) was a Hungarian painter; specializing in animals.

Life and work

His father,

György Vastagh György Vastagh (12 April 1834 in Szeged – 21 February 1922 in Budapest) was a Hungarian portrait and genre painter. Biography His father was a shipping administrator, but had artistic leanings, which influenced György to start painting ...

, was a painter. His brother, György, became a sculptor; as did his niece, , and his nephew, . After studying at a

Piarist The Piarists (), officially named the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools (), abbreviated SchP, is a religious order of clerics regular of the Catholic Church founded in 1617 by Spanish priest Joseph Calasanz ...

secondary school in Budapest, he went to Munich in 1886. There, he enrolled at a private school, operated by

Simon Hollósy Simon Hollósy (2 February 1857 – 8 May 1918) was a Hungarian painter. He was considered one of the greatest Hungarian representatives of 19th-century Naturalism and Realism. Hollósy was not highly productive as an artist and was more im ...

, followed by studies at the Academy of Fine Arts under Gabriel von Hackl. In 1887, he held his first exhibition at the Glaspalast. That same year his painting, "Resting Peasant", was purchased by Emperor

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

. The following year, he returned briefly to Budapest, then made a study trip to France. During this period, he sent many of his works to England and the United States. His interests later turned to animals; notably cattle. His painting "Ki a legény a csordában?" (Who is the Bachelor of the Herd?), was awarded a gold medal and made into an etching by . He created several huge canvases on related themes. In 1898, a state scholarship enabled him to spend four months in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

and

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

, where he studied lions, their habits and living conditions; taking photographs as well as making sketches. After the turn of the century, he made studies at zoos in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, and Berlin. In 1906, he married Margit Zsigmondy, daughter of the mechanical engineer, . They had three children. A few years later, he took a break from his usual subjects and painted landscapes in the Tatras. In addition to his paintings, he created illustrations for several books, including the Hungarian edition of ''Tierleben'' (The Life of Animals), by

Alfred Brehm Alfred Edmund Brehm (; 2 February 1829 – 11 November 1884) was a German zoologist and writer. His multi-volume book '' Brehms Tierleben'', which he co-authored with Eduard Pechuël-Loesche, Wilhelm Haacke, and Richard Schmidtlein, becam ...

. A major retrospective of his works was held in 1920. They were also shown in 1934, at a centenary honoring his father, and again in 2004, at an exhibition honoring the entire Vastagh family, in the

Ernst Museum The Ernst Museum ( Hungarian : ''Ernst Múzeum'') is an art museum located in Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European ...

. Many of his works may be seen at the

Hungarian National Gallery The Hungarian National Gallery (also known as Magyar Nemzeti Galéria, ), was established in 1957 as the national art museum. It is located in Buda Castle in Budapest, Hungary. Its collections cover Hungarian art in all genres, including the w ...

and the .

Sources

* Lyka Károly: ''Festészeti életünk a millenniumtól az első világháborúig'' (Our paintings from the Millennium to the First World War). Corvina, 1983 * Seregélyi György (ed.), ''Magyar festők és grafikusok adattára'' (Database of Hungarian Painters and Graphic Artists), self-published, 1988 * "Géza Vastagh", in: ''Erdélyi Művészet'' (Transylvanian Art), 2016
Online

External links

More works by Vastagh
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Vastagh, Geza 1866 births 1919 deaths Hungarian painters Hungarian painters of animals Academy of Fine Arts, Munich alumni People from Cluj-Napoca Painters from Austria-Hungary