Csornay Boldizsár - Dobos Zsuzsa - Varga Ágota - Zakariás János szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 97. (Budapest, 2002)

The Year 2002

THOMAS ENDER'S WATERCOLOURS FROM GÖDÖLLŐ In 2002 the Collection of Prints and Drawings was enriched by three works by Thomas Ender (1793-1875), one of the most excellent masters of 19th century Austrian watercolour painting. The watercolours of high quality, which were painted in Hungary and depict the surroundings of the Palace of Gödöllő, were bought by the Museum of Fine Arts from Christian M. Nebehay, Viennese antiquarian.

1 The catalogue of the exhibition of Thomas Ender's bequest in 1876 enlisted the artist's Hungarian and Transylvanian works separately, with several representations of Gödöllő among them.

2 From among the latter group, only two got to public collections and could gain wider reputation: the watercolour, depicting the main entrance of the Grassalkovich Palace, in the Albertina, Vienna, and its companion piece, showing the rear façade of the building as seen from the English garden, in the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest.

3 A propos of the Viennese exhibition in 1938, entitled Eine Altwiener Maler-Dynastie, first presenting the oeuvre of the Ender brothers with great success and considerable attendance, Prince Pál Esterházy, in a letter, drew the organizers' attention to three watercolours depicting Gödöllő in his possession.

4 These three pieces, which arrived finally, with the intermediation of the Viennese antiquaries, in Hungary, can be supposed to be identical with those which figured in the topographical register of Walter Koschatzky, Thomas Ender's monographer.

5 Thomas Ender started his artistic studies at the Viennese Academy of Fine Arts at the age of 13 together with his twin brother, Johann Nepomuk. The talent of the brothers was first recognized by the Chancellor Metternich, who patronized Thomas' Brazilian and Italian trips. While Johann painted history paintings and portraits, Thomas devoted his entire life to landscapes.

6 From 1829 onwards, as a court painter, he stood in the service of the archduke Johannes, the younger brother of Emperor Franz. The archduke commissioned several artists to discover and depict the natural beauties of the Alpine provinces. While wandering in the Alps, Thomas Ender prepared drawings of exceptional 1 The park of the Palace of Gödöllő, inv. 2002.1, watercolour, 215><235 mm; The entrance of the Palace of Gödöllő from the village, inv. 2002.2, watercolour, 215x235 mm; Landscape with the stables of the Palace of Gödöllő (The hamlet of Babat), inv. 2002.3, watercolour, 215x325 mm. 2 Thomas Ender. Nachlassausstellung, Wien, Künstlerhaus, 1876, 26-7, nrs. 961-5 and 976-7. 3 Albertina, inv. 28.414. The drawing in Budapest is one of the artifacts passed in 1933 from the Viennese court collections to Hungary, reg. n. 1933-2391. The two pieces were published by Schaeffer, A., Die Kaiserliche Gemäldegalerie in Wien. Moderne Meister, Wien 1903, 112-3. 4 The Prince's letter dated on 18 February 1938 is conserved in the archives of the Österreichische Galerie. 5 Koschatzky, W., Thomas Ender 1793-1875. Kammermaler Erzherzog Johanns, Graz 1982, 198, with the note: "Gödöllő (besides those listed): three landscapes, private collection, Kremsmünster" 6 Cf.: Johann Nepomuk Ender, Thomas Ender Retrospective (ed. Papp, Gábor György), (Art Collection of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences) Budapest 2001.