# The Dissatisfied Painter \(Crisis in the Life of a Painter\) [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [BORSOS, József]() - Date: 1851-1900 - Technique: Oil on wood, 98 x 82 cm ## Commentary What can make the young artist dissatisfied in a studio where all accoutrements necessary for his profession are present. The inspiration was perhaps disturbed by the debate of critics who could not not agree if painting should portray reality or the idea of beauty. Borsos painted this picture in 1852. The artist may have had problems of how to link the picture to the events of 1848, events full of enthusiasm first and sorrow later. The artist's figure, whose beard, hair, eyes, black traditional Hungarian clothes are similar to those of Petõfi, a poet and a major figure of 1848-49, seems to recall the poet. Borsos' "National Guard" painted in 1848 proved, too, that he was not left untouched by ideas of the revolution. ## Related artworks - [Homing Pigeon]() - [Lady with a Lorgnette]() - [Officer of the National Guard]() - [Young Maids after the Ball]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()