A Few Words About My Painting “The Memory of Petőfi”

Sándor Petőfi has been my dearest poet since childhood. During the creation of this painting, my wife surprised me with a 1,238-page volume containing Petőfi’s complete poems, which gave renewed momentum to my work.

The painting evokes a March 15 commemoration, where a gathered crowd listens to a speech of remembrance. While composing the image, I sought to suggest an early nineteenth-century atmosphere. I aimed to achieve this primarily through the clothing of the approximately fifty figures within the crowd.

The chosen location may feel familiar to many viewers, although my intention was not to replicate its present-day appearance. The central figure is, after all, the celebrated poet’s statue, standing on a pedestal in a bronze-like finish.

The sky is rendered in a warm blend of yellows — gold ochre mixed with cadmium orange. The foreground space consists of black, medium brown, burgundy and vermilion tones, painted mainly in tempera and watercolor. Acrylic was used for the flag. In several areas I applied water-based gold and bronze to heighten the ceremonial atmosphere.

The faces and facial details are intentionally left undefined. Petőfi, celebrated here as a national icon, appears in the form of a proportionally enlarged statue.

István Holcsik