Saint Elizabeth of Hungary

The emphasis on Saint Elizabeth’s Hungarian origins became widespread in the 19th century, first in literature and later in painting. Known since the Middle Ages as one of Europe’s most venerated saints for her selfless acts of charity, she later also came to embody the ideal of the virtuous royal woman. In her figure, contemporaries also discerned an echo of Empress Elisabeth, wife of Franz Joseph I.

The painting, commissioned by Primate Simor, depicts Saint Elizabeth helping a beggar woman and her child. The figures, huddled in poverty and heartrending distress beneath the open sky in the harsh winter cold, appear at the foot of a roadside cross. Dressed in Hungarian-style attire, Elizabeth performs an act of mercy by covering those in need with her warm cloak.

The painter studied in Vienna, while his later career was primarily associated with Munich, where he became professor of history painting at the Academy.

Provenance

Commission of Archbishop János Simor

Exhibitions

• 2015 "Meisterwerke .." Diözesanmuseum, Esztergom

Bibliography

• Magyarország műemléki topográfiája I. Esztergom 1. Esztergom műemlékei.összeállította: Genthon István, Budapest, 1948, 54.;
• Cséfalvay Pál: Simor János és a kortárs képzőművészet. Kiáll. kat. [Keresztény Múzeum, 2000. okt. 12 - 2001. ápr. 30.], Szerk. Kontsek Ildikó, Esztergom: Keresztény Múzeum, 2001, Kat. 33.;
• Wolfgang Huber (szerk.): Meisterwerke aus dem Keresztény Múzeum; kiáll.kat; Sankt Pölten 2015, 163.