László Mednyánszky

László Mednyánszky
László Mednyánszky
Born	Ladislaus Josephus Balthasar Eustachius Mednyánszky (1852-04-23)23 April 1852 Beckó (Beckov), Kingdom of Hungary (today Slovakia)
Died	17 April 1919(1919-04-17) (aged 66) Vienna, Austria
Nationality	Hungarian
Known for	Painter
Movement	Impressionism

Baron László Mednyánszky or Ladislaus Josephus Balthasar Eustachius Mednyánszky (Slovak: Ladislav Medňanský) (23 April 1852 – 17 April 1919), the painter-philosopher, is one of the most enigmatic figures in the history of Hungarian art. Despite an background, he spent most of his life moving around Europe working as an artist. Mednyánszky spent considerable periods in seclusion but mingled with people across society - in the aristocracy, art world, peasantry and army - many of whom became the subjects of his paintings. His most important works depict scenes of nature and poor, working people, particularly from his home region in Kingdom of Hungary. He is also known as a painter of folklore of Upper Hungary (today Slovakia).

Mednyánszky was born in Beckó, Kingdom of Hungary, Habsburg Monarchy (today Beckov in Slovakia), to Eduard Mednyánszky and Maria Anna Mednyánszky, (née Szirmay) both from landowning families. He came from a Hungarian noble family. Some say he was of Slovak origin, however, according to others, he was born into a Hungarian family with Polish and Hungarian ancestry. One of his grandmothers, Eleonora Richer was of French origin. His native tongue was Hungarian and it is not even sure he could speak Slovak.

Mednyánszky's family moved in 1861 to the chateau of his grandfather, Baltazár Szirmay, at Nagyőr () (Strážky), near Szepesbéla (Spišská Belá) in north-eastern Slovakia. This was to be the setting for many of his works. Mednyánszky met the Austrian artist Thomas Ender in 1863 when Ender visited the chateau at Nagyőr (Strážky). Ender took an interest in Mednyánszky's early efforts at drawing, lending his assistance to improve Mednyánszky's skills.