The following is an adapted version of an article written by Gábor Bencsik, originally published in Hungarian in Magyar Krónika.
For those familiar with Biedermeier portrait painting, Ágost Canzi’s painting truly stands out from its peers, and even those seeing it for the first time can immediately sense that it is a work of exceptional quality.
The era of widespread destructive wars in Hungary ended with the Peace of Szatmár in 1711, which concluded the Rákóczi War of Independence. There were still invasions from the east and south, but the country as a whole was greeted by a long era of peace, creating the foundations for slow but continuous growth.
However, we also know from the experiences of other countries that peace does not bear its fruits immediately. First, the things necessary for everyday life must be accumulated again; then reconstruction begins: the reorganization of society, the establishment of trade relations, and only after them can culture and art follow.
The first boom in Hungarian painting and sculpture after the Turkish era was due to the church-building boom. Since the largest part of the territory of present-day Hungary fell within the former Ottoman-occupied territories, and most of the houses of worship there had been destroyed, the majority of the churches standing today were built in the eighteenth century—but only in its second half, when villages and their landlords had accumulated sufficient wealth to afford such non-productive investments. This was followed by their dignified decoration with frescoes, altars, and stone and wooden sculptures.
At first, well-known and unknown Austrian artists got to work, from whom more and more Hungarian artists learned the craft. However, the upsurge of domestic secular painting had to wait until the bourgeois and civilized noble class, which could have commissioned the works, was created.
The Reformation era laid the foundations for this development. As the growing middle nobility and bourgeoisie developed a demand for bourgeois homes, now mostly described as Biedermeier in style, it became fashionable to decorate them with paintings depicting landscapes, mythological scenes, or even members of the owner’s family. It seems that, in this case, demand outstripped supply. Church artists, however, remained focused on religious subjects due to the abundance of commissions, so the painters producing works for bourgeois homes initially came to Hungary from abroad, including Johann Jacob Stunder, Johann Daniel Donat, and Jacopo Marastoni.
Martin Kanz, born in 1813 and of Austrian origin, also fits into this list, who exchanged his successful career in Paris, which was honoured with a French government award, for work first in Stuttgart, then Vienna and finally Pest. He settled in Pest in 1846, and changing his name to Ágost Canzi, he worked here until the end of his life, until 1866. In the predominantly German-speaking but Hungarian-hearted city, he more or less became Hungarian himself, supported an orphan association, was a member of the Pest Art Association, and was a regular participant in Pest exhibitions.
‘In the predominantly German-speaking but Hungarian-hearted city, he more or less became Hungarian himself’
Like most painters of his time, he was certainly introduced to photography at an early age, as we know that in 1862, he established a joint photographic studio with József Heller on Kristóf Square. Photography certainly helped him in painting his portraits, but of course, it could not replace artistic talent. A vivid example of this is the cover of this article, the portrait of Olga Werther of Numvár.
For those familiar with Biedermeier portrait painting, this painting really stands out from its peers, but even those seeing it for the first time can immediately sense that it is a work of exceptional quality. It is not the lifelikeness that makes the quality, since we do not even know what the little girl was like in reality, but the liveliness that even evokes the personality. This face is the face of a real person who, thanks to the magic of art, survives what is depicted.
The dove in the little girl’s hand was already a popular tool of the painter’s routine, and was used in many paintings of the time as a symbol of childlike innocence and purity. The simplicity of the background was also the result of a conscious artistic decision, the aim being to direct the viewer’s gaze to the face, which could easily have been disturbed by a dynamic background. We know that not all the works of a good artist are of the same high standard; there are also excellent, good, and mediocre ones. This portrait of Canzi is undoubtedly an outstanding piece of the known oeuvre, now the pride of the Hungarian National Gallery.
It is a valuable addition to the story of the work to know who Olga Werther was. Her father, Friedrich Werther, a machinist, emigrated to Hungary from Naumburg, Germany, in 1831—hence the given name Numvar used in our country—and first manufactured distillery equipment in Buda, then founded the second steam mill in the capital. His daughter first married Vilmos Prokopius, and then, after his death, Antal Perlep, the royal financial advisor, and moved with him to Graz. She did not give up her Hungarian ties, however, and left her art collection of high-quality works, including hundreds of miniatures and portraits of family members, to the Museum of Applied Arts and the Museum of Fine Arts.
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