André VAUTHIER GALLE
(1818–1899)

Medal of the Paris Salon

1870
Gold
Hungarian National Museum, Budapest
Inv. no. 65/941-3

Munkácsy started work on the large, multi-figure version of The Condemned Cell in spring 1869, while in Düsseldorf. We know from his correspondence that “one fine Friday” an “Englishman” called at his studio to examine the unfinished work and purchased it then and there for an extraordinarily high sum (of 10,000 francs). At his request, the painting was sent to the Paris Salon, where it was awarded one of the forty gold medals. Munkácsy’s life changed suddenly: he was contacted by collectors and dealers, and not only did his prestige grow but also the market value of his work.
Although the identity of the visitor is not clear from the letter, according to the latest research we can be certain that the buyer and first owner of the painting was the American industrialist William P. Wilstach (1816–1870). The painting was acquired from his collection by the Pennsylvania Museum (later the Philadelphia Museum of Art) in 1892. In 1954, the museum put the painting up for auction, where it was purchased via two art dealers by André Kostolany. A leading stock market analyst in Paris, the Hungarian-born Kostolany sold the painting in 1965 to the Hungarian National Gallery.