SZINYEI MERSE, Pál
(b. 1845, Szinyeújfalu, d. 1920, Jernye)

A Field of Poppies

1896
Oil on canvas, 39 x 63 cm
Magyar Nemzeti Galéria, Budapest

Similarly to the Impressionist painters, most notably Monet, Szinyei Merse, too, noticed that the contrast between the greens and the reds of the meadows interspersed with the bright red of poppies create a fantastically vibrating image in the eyes of the viewers. This theme enabled the painter to return, after the long years of silence, to the colour schemes dreamt up in his younger years. Of the pictures showing poppies - painted in 1895, 1896, 1900 and 1902 - the 1896 version entitled "Poppies in the Field" is the most interesting, alongside with is variation painted six years later, "Poppies in the Field". Although in a slightly different arrangement and format, this painting shows the artist's favourite components of landscapes in a similar composition. Due to the vertical format of the picture, the blue sky with the white clouds, as well as the peasant woman and her son walking along the yellow path, are given greater emphasis.

Of all the versions, this one is the best thought-out, with the most balanced colour composition and the best representation of the Hungarian countryside's character.




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