Agria 42. (Az Egri Múzeum Évkönyve - Annales Musei Agriensis, 2006)

H. Szilasi Ágota: A raktár félhomályában. Kovács Mihály festménymásolatairól levelei és önéletírása tükrében

Agota H. Szilasi In the Depths of the Stores: Mihály Kovács

's Copies in the Light of His Letters and Autobiography In our postmodern age more attention has been devoted to the question of copies of works, particularly the problem of artistic copies, well-intentioned copies or copies by masters. Serious scientific research, and a large number of exhibitions, have been devoted to the topic worldwide In November 2004 the University of Fine Arts in Budapest hosted a three day conference at which Hungarian art historians turned their attention to the question of the "authentic-copy". Our museum houses the bequest of the Heves County-born artist Mihály Kovács (1818-1892). His autobiography, and his as yet unpublished letters to his friend, the priest-poet Béla Tarkányi, frequently contain accounts of his trips to the great galleries and churches of Europe, and the effect the paintings had on him. Together with the relevant paintings in the fine art collection of Eger's István Dobó Museum these written sources have helped us to comment on the copies Mihály Kovács made of some of the great paintings in European Art. We pay special attention to his stay in Spain between 1864 and 1867, as well as the months he spent in Venice in 1873-4 and again in 1877, as it was at these particular times that he devoted a lot of his time to the copying of works at the Prado and the Galleria dell'Accademia. Athough he did make small copies of the most popular works for himself, he produced to commission and for sale, something that supplied him with a third form of income, alongside his portraits and altarpiece paintings. In a genre where he enjoyed considerable success it is our belief that the best examples are worthy of attention. 682