The Tragedy of Man (Hungarian: Az ember tragédiája)

Today I went to visit another exhibition, which I must admit, surprised me a lot. I knew what to expect as I've read what was the exhibition about, but what I saw was absolutely exceptional. While I was admiring the artworks, was thinking how lucky I am to be able to witness such beauty, for free.

When I came home, I spoke to a friend and told him I went to visit another art exhibition.

You live a boring life as that is not my idea of fun.

This is what he said 😂. This makes me a weirdo as it seems I don't know what fun is. He made me laugh as these exhibitions are a lot of fun for me and they motivate me to start creating art.

In 2023 we're celebrating 200 years from the birth of Imre Madách, the author of the play. Portrait of Imre Madách on the right in the photo above. This series was created to celebrate the author.

The Tragedy of Man (Hungarian: Az ember tragédiája) is a play written by the Hungarian author Imre Madách. It was first published in 1861. The play is considered to be one of the major works of Hungarian literature and is one of the most often staged Hungarian plays today. Many lines have become common quotations in Hungary. The 1984 film The Annunciation (Angyali üdvözlet) was based on the play, as was the 2011 animated film The Tragedy of Man. source

It's a very interesting play. You can read the Synopsis here.

The Tragedy of Man contains fifteen scenes, with ten historical periods represented. source

The author of the artworks, István Orth, respected this setup, although there were more than 15 artworks as some of the scenes had two artworks.

Below each artwork, I'm going to post the name of the scene, which I'm copying from Wikipedia

In Heaven, immediately following the creation.

This was the first artwork I saw and it fascinated me right away. Each artwork was ink and watercolor on paper. The simplicity of the works is what I loved the most, I think. Look at this one. Just a few lines, without abundant details, some colors and that is all.

In the Garden of Eden at the Beginning of Human History, likely around 75,000 BC.

Before visiting the exhibition I was thinking I should, at some point try to do some graphic arts, that have always been my dream but I've never considered myself brave enough to try it out. Then I see these wonderful artworks.

So what I did as get close to each of them and observe every detail. I suppose that's how you learn. What I was able to figure out here was that first, the artist made a drawing, most likely a ruler was used and the texture you see is due to the paper. There will be close-up photos later, where you can see the paper from close.

Outside the Garden of Eden at the Beginning of Human History

Now look at the painting and read the title. Can you see, what the title says, in the painting?

Egypt, c. 2686-2648 BC. Adam is a Pharaoh, most likely Djoser; Lucifer his Vizier Imhotep; Eve is the widow of a slave

Athens, 490-489 BC. Adam is Miltiades the Younger; Lucifer is a city guard; Eve is Miltiades' wife

Rome, c. 67 AD. Adam is a wealthy Roman; Lucifer is his friend, Eve is a prostitute

Here's a close-up photo for you to see the details. I'm not sure how the artist managed to create those shades with watercolor, but I find it very interesting.

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Constantinople, 1096-1099 AD. Adam is Tancred, Prince of Galilee; Lucifer is his squire; Eve is a noble maiden forced to become a nun

I'm not a religious person, so hanging religious scenes on my wall is not a priority, but this one looked amazing.

This one belongs to the previous one. Painting the people so tall was an excellent idea. I loved this one as well. Another detail that I need to mention is that the white background, accompanied by just a handful of colors was a good choice.

For the first time in my life, I walked past the artwork twice, I mean I had to look at each one another time. Thankfully it was only one room and about 20 paintings, but it was worth it. I think this series inspired me a lot. Let's hope the inspiration is strong enough to hold till I get time to try something. In the near future I should by this special paper and some ink though.

If you're a newbie, you may want to check out these guides: