03 — ARTWORK
The Warlord's Sword
IVÁNYI GRÜNWALD, Béla · 1890 →
- MEDIUM
- Oil on canvas, 161 x 150 cm
- TYPE
- Mythological
PALETTE
HOVER OR TAP A SWATCH FOR NAME, SHARE AND HEX. SAMPLED FROM THE IMAGE — INDICATIVE, NOT A PIGMENT ANALYSIS.
THIS REPRODUCTION DOWNLOAD THE FULL FILE ↓
- FILE
- 931 × 1000 px · JPEG
COMMENTARY
UNDERLINED TERMS ARE DEFINED IN THE GLOSSARY.
Béla Iványi Grünwald, like all the other members of Hollósy's circle in Munich, was greatly influenced by the fine naturalismGeneric term for scientific positions supported by natural insights. In fine arts and literature between approximately 1870 and 1900, Naturalism tried to reproduce the reality comprehended through sensory experience as realistically as possible, i.e. without idealising the object, but with scientific precision. In contrast to Realism, which was also based on the accurate description of natural occurrences, Naturalism concerns itself with the sensual dimensions of observation, whereby questions of morality and social criticism come to the fore. The spokesman for literary Naturalism was Emile Zola, who believed the artistic methods provided evidence of human existence. of Jules Bastien-Lepage. Right until his Nagybánya period, he painted in a similar style. The War Lord's Sword (1890), a painting worthy of the standard set by Bastien-Lepage, is set apart from his other paintings from the same period; in this painting, just like in Bastien-Lepage's works, the rustic scenes are depicted with tender sympathy.
This painting takes us back to the world of legends dealing with the origin of the Hungarian people. According to the legend, in Attila the Hun's time a shepherd found God's sword standing thrust into the earth. The king interpreted this as a manifesation of God's will, and set off to conquer the western world with the sword. Iványi depicted this scene very simple, in accordance with the rules of tonal painting. As a result, the painting is very different from the representative historical tableaux produced during the time of the Millennial celebrations.
CITE THIS RECORD — BIBTEX
@online{wga-r73da3da237a4f4,
author = {Krén, Emil and Marx, Daniel},
title = {The Warlord's Sword by IVÁNYI GRÜNWALD, Béla},
organization = {{Web Gallery of Art}},
date = {2026-09-13},
url = {https://beta.wga.hu/artists/ivnyi-grnwald-bla-r62e97e66d3b96e/the-warlords-sword-r73da3da237a4f4},
urldate = {2026-09-13},
langid = {english}
}ACCESSED 2026-09-13. REPLACE THE AUTHOR FIELD WITH THE COMMENTARY AUTHOR WHERE ONE IS NAMED.
