ORLAI PETRICH, SOMA (1822–1880)

Portrait of András Debreczeni, 1854

oil on canvas, 37x30 cm; unmarked
Fine Arts Collection, Inv. No.: 2018.3.

Soma Orlai Petrich is a prominent Hungarian Biedermeier painter. He painted the first portrait of the poet Sándor Petőfi and as a result, established the cult that would later form around him. He was also the second cousin of his and they were good friends since childhood. Art history considers Orlai Petrich as the precursor to the great creators of Hungarian romantic painting. He chose the name Orlai after one of the novel heroes (Orlay) of writer and poet Mihály Vörösmarty, who he deeply respected. In 1853, he officially took on the name.
The pair of portraits presumably depict András Debreczeni, the magistrate of Gyoma and his wife, Mária Kun, who both lived in the first half of the 19^th century. Gyoma (known today as Gyomaendrőd) was part of the wider homeland of Orlai, who was from Mezőberény. Due to the close proximity, he painted the portraits of several outstanding citizens from there. The portraits of the elderly couple were likely made around 1854, as suggested by a marking on the back and the approximate ages of the depicted people.
The perceptively painted portraits, as per tradition, were composed to slightly face towards each other. Their calm and dignified appearances are further accentuated by the neutral background. A slight contrast can be observed however between the warm colours of the otherwise stern male, and the cooler colours of the more cheerful female visage.
Previously, the collection of the Herman Ottó Museum did not contain any artworks from Orlai. These two portraits were acquired through purchase by the museum in 2018.
Ákos Barkóczi