Végvári Lajos Munkácsy Mihály

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Ecce Homo (1896)
It was Kádár Gábor who convinced him to do the third part of the Christ—
series which is actually his final project, finished in 1896. Because of the
Munkácsy Mihály — Trilogy 10
circumstances, instead of a "happy" or rather hopeful scene, he changed the
"topic" to the Ecce Homo onto which he could paint his own suffering as
Jesus's suffering:
Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring
him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him.
Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple
robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!
When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out,
saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him,
and crucify him: for I find no fault in him. (King James V., John 1914)
Munkácsy Mihály himself brought the painting to Budapest, to a newly
opening exhibition, Millenáris Kiállítás.
The 20th century
The Ecce Homo was later exhibited in Brussels, Wien, England and Ireland.
It also reached the US but never met the two previous pieces. In 1914 it
was exhibited in Venice. (www.hung—art.hu)
On this Venice event it was the Hungarian state that organized the
Hungarian exhibition. Well, this was the problem because the result Was a
room with a gold-background just because in the brochure Hungary Was
mentioned as a country rich in gold and silver. But, in spite of the
circumstances, (that, thanks to the shiny and glittering background, the
paintings could hardly been seen) Munkácsy (and Paál László as Well)
"beaten out" success. (írók és Művészek között, p. 63)
Munkácsy Mihály — Trilogy 11
Finally, it Was taken back to Budapest. According to original plans, the
Trilogy would have meant part of a newly built catholic cathedral. John
Wanamaker was ready to give the other two paintings but the American—
English consortium meeting was cancelled because of financial difficulties.
(Even the needed 120 thousand coronas — approximately 24.000 dollars - for
the purchase of Ecce Homo was not collected.) (www.hung—art.hu)
Déri Frigyes
The 1st World War brought out, no one Was interested in the art business.
In this hopeless situation Déri Frigyes, the trade councilor living in Wien
appeared Who bought the painting for 76 thousand coronas (approximately
15.000 dollars) in 1914. Later in 1930, he gifted (and also mentioned in his