FAIX (early 19^th century)

Portrait of Gottfried Kollár, 1807

oil on canvas (mounted on wood board), 12x9.5 cm; unmarked
Fine Arts Collection, Inv. No.: 53.10.1.

Much like the nobles and the gentry, the up-and-coming citizenship also liked to commission portraits of themselves and their loved ones. In addition to artists who have honed their skills abroad, several minor masters were also active in Hungary during this period, ready to offer their services to sate the ever-increasing demand for portraits.
Despite the similar name, the creator of these portraits is not András Faix, since his artworks are well identifiable. Only these two portraits are known from this master, which were donated to the museum in 1905. The yearbook of the museum states, presumably based on the account of the donator, that these portraits, which depict the button maker master from Szarvas and his wife, were made in 1807 in Eperjes, based on a pair of miniature portraits. It is possible that the elderly couple had already passed away by the time their descendants commissioned the paintings. The collection of the museum also includes the portrait pair of Gottfried Kollár’s son and his wife from the same donator, however, those were made by a different artist.
The portraits depicting the members of the Kollár family showcase the centuries-old painting traditions of these craftsman-like local masters. The overall simplicity of the artistic depiction is balanced out by careful and detailed workmanship and the efforts made to capture the model’s resemblance, which provide a sense of intimacy for both portraits.
Andrea Pirint