Róka Enikő szerk.: Zichy Mihály, a „rajzoló fejedelem” (A Magyar Nemzeti Galéria kiadványai 2007/4)

A „rajzoló fejedelem" RÓKA ENIKŐ

contemporary elite was quite obvious, their arts were never identified with political ideas to such an extent as it had happened in France in the course of the debates on Ingres and Delacroix. On the other hand, the two artists remained on good terms with each other apart from some minor disagreements. This personal element should not be neglected, for in the case of Ingres and Delacroix several legends relied on their existing antipathy, thereby confirming and recording the conflicts of the two parties. Contemporary critics in Hungary were keen on contributing to the establishment and support of national art, thus the international successes of both artists served as a means of promoting Hungary's artistic life. The deplorable situation in Hungary was castigated by them exposing the fact that the greatest Hungarian artists were unable to accomplish their art in their home country, so their respective careers could be used as arguments for improving the general state of Hungarian artistic life. For this reason, a compromise had to be achieved, whereby the two parties were reconciled. The two artists represented the manifestations of Hungarian artistic genius as well as two independent types within the world of 'art of drawing'. Yet, Munkácsy's cult overshadowed Zichy. However, the same year when Zichy died in 1906, he was finally given an intellectual gratification by a Hungarian critic, Géza Nikelszky, who declared the birth of 'a prince among draughstmen' thereby elevating him to the same level of 'the prince among painters.'