Farmworker's Breakfast

Peter Szule

Basic information

ID: Ж-3630
Author: Peter Szule
Name: Farmworker's Breakfast
Technique: oil painting
Material: canvas oil
Dimensions (height x width, cm): 78.5 x 59

Additionally

Type: painting
Genre: genre art portraiture
Provenance: Purchased from a private individual

Information about author

Author: Peter Szule
Artist's lifetime: 1886–1944
Country: Hungary
Biography: Peter Szule (1886, Cegled – 1944, Budapest) was a Hungarian painter and one of the leading masters of realism. He studied at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts. After graduating, he travelled extensively through the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Italy. Upon returning home, he initially worked in Budapest, and then from 1923 to 1928, he was part of the Szolnok Artist's Colony. He painted genre scenes depicting the everyday lives of poor peasants and beggars, primarily in dark brown tones. In his later paintings, Szule used brighter colours in the style of Impressionism. Most of the artist's works are held in the Hungarian National Gallery.

Object description

The everyday life of people experiencing poverty was the central theme of the artist's creative work. During his travels in the Netherlands, Szule became fascinated by the works of Rembrandt van Rijn, which later influenced his paintings through the play of light and shadow. Such is the "Farmworker's Breakfast" painting, filled with deep psychological insight. The light from the left draws the viewer's attention to the tired face of the young man sitting alone during breakfast. Lost in his gloomy thoughts, he mechanically raises the spoon to his mouth. The hireling's eyes are closed as if he wishes to escape the hostile world.

Inscriptions

In the lower right, there is the artist's signature: "Szüle".

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery

Farmworker's Breakfast

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