Gyula Benczúr: Narcissus, 1881

Gyula Benczúr, a contemporary of Mihály Munkácsy and Pál Szinyei Merse, was a consistently outstanding exponent of academicism from his time at the Academy in Munich, and later a much feted artist in Budapest. He was accomplished in every aspect of painting that could be learned from studying the works of his Renaissance and Baroque forebears. These skills, encompassing composition and the precise, sensual depiction of details, are demonstrated in his Narcissus of 1881. Surprisingly, however, Benczúr’s treatment of this Ovidian theme deviates from the traditional iconography. In the images of Narcissus, the mythological youth who fell in love with himself is usually shown lying or crouching by a stream, admiring his reflection in the water. Here, he is posing like a ballet dancer, a giddy expression on his face, immersing his left arm in a basin rimmed by a wall.