Waterside

Perhaps the Markó era really came to an end not with the death of Antal Ligeti but with Géza Mészöly, who could depart furthest from the style of his “master.” The distance was more conspicuous than in the case of Ferenc Markó, although it helped Mészöly that he did not know Károly Markó the Elder personally. He knew the work, however, because he often copied paintings by Markó, Telepy and Ligeti, while still a student of law. A disciple of Markó, Antal Ligeti was the one to encourage him to choose a career in painting. Though he spent a considerable part of his life abroad (he studied in Vienna, lived in Munich, and visited Paris), he remained a Hungarian painter thanks to his subjects, his choice of staffage from the fishing folk of the river Tisza and Lake Balaton. It is worth taking a close look at the brushstrokes in Waterside: rather than the precision of details, meticulousness here serves the reflection of light effects.