Rózsa György: The Palace of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

IV. The first floor

1857), György Károlyi and Ábrahám Vay by Johann Ender (it must be noted here that the captions of the Vay and Esterházy portraits were exchanged by mistake), János Imre by Johann Ender, a portrait of the young István Széchenyi with a gun across his shoulder by Johann Ender, Sándor Petőfi in his study by Soma Orlai Petrich (1822 —1880), Dániel Berzsenyi and the protrait of a woman by Miklós Barabás, Kazinczy's birthplace and grave by Károly Jakobey (1825 — 1891), two seascapes by Károly Kisfaludy (1788—1830), István Széchenyi by Mór Than, the portrait of the infant Ferenc Rákóczi II, the children of János Podmaniczky by Ádám Mányoki (1673—1757). In the last room hangs a coloured ink drawing by Mihály Zichy (1827-1906), entitled "Music accompanies you from the cradle to the grave", originally a sketch for the frieze of a concert hall, from the legacy of Géza Voinovich. The strip-like composition was put on a scroll, thus, when opened out, the sequence of scenes is reversed. The portrait of János Arany by Mihály Kovács (1818—1892) can be seen in the same room. Johann Ender accompanied István Széchenyi on his journey to the Orient. The watercolour, showing the young aristocrat in an informal posture, may have been painted during this journey. The mannered deportment and attire serve the portrayal of character, introducing a man who conducts his life on a large scale according to his own rules. The Transylvanian Ferenc Simó depicts Sándor Kisfaludy as the already famous poet, although the accessories of his profession are not present in the painting. The patch of the intelligent face is set off by the dark, braided clothing suggesting a noble origin, and the clouded sky. The fact that the painting was soon reproduced from copper plate proves its popularity. The Viennese Anton Einsle was often commissioned by Hungarians. The portrait of Ferenc Kölcsey, author of the National Anthem, is one of his most important, Hungarian-related paintings. Soma Orlai Petrich's place in the history of art is among the pioneers of Hungarian historical painting, but he also left some outstanding portraits behind. All his life he was preoccupied by the figure of Sándor Petőfi, his distant relative and good friend. His painting, which depicts Petőfi at his desk, is so close to the half-length portrait of the poet, dated 1848 and kept in the National Museum, that it must have come into being soon afterwards. If, reaching the first floor, we turn to the right, we come to the Secretarygeneral's office, the Lecture Hall, the Hall of Pictures and the Presidential Conference Room. In the rooms of the Secretary-general's office a memorial tablet deserves to be mentioned commemorating Béla Bartók's activities in the arrangement of folksongs which took place in the building 1934—1940. 27