DLA099-0080  Translation

‘The Painter of Queens and Kings. Mr Philip A. de László, M.V.O.’, La Liberté, 10 February 1929

At the moment in Cairo, de László is painting the portrait of H.M. the King [4094][113256][110671] and of H.R.H. Prince Farouk [4122]

We have at the moment in Cairo the great master of modern portraiture, Mr Philip Alexius de László, known as the painter of Queens and Kings, of Statesmen, of the great personalities of the epoch, writing in his portraits the history of  the days we are living in.

In his portraits, of which we publish three important reproductions,^[1] Mr de László does not limit himself to giving a simple and striking physical likeness, but also achieves moral, psychological likeness.

In the eyes, the fold of a lip, the features, the general expression of the face, he knows [loss] it is all the secret of the events he reveals to us. The future will use de László’s portraits to decipher in them the enigmas of history, and in the lightning of a look or the boldness of a lip, one shall understand why things happened as they did.

The career of the greatest of contemporary artists took off quickly and is outstanding. Born in Budapest in 1869, Mr de László first started his studies in his birth town and continued them in Munich and Paris. In the latter town, his masters were Benjamin Constant and Lefebvre; his first resounding success was his portrait of Prince Hohenlohe, former Chancellor of the German Empire [4485]. He exhibited it at the Paris Salon in 1899 and won the Gold Medal, whilst being categorised as ‘Hors Concours’. He continued with a famous portrait of Pope Leo XIII [4509], in which one admired the skill with which he depicted the Sovereign Pontiff’s proverbial frailty. This portrait won its creator the Great Gold Medal of Paris, Dusseldorf and Vienna. It was followed by an interesting portrait of Cardinal Rampolla [4511]. The fame of Mr de László became not only European, but International, and he painted the portraits of King Alfonso XIII of Spain [7925], of the Queen of Spain [7933], of the Royal Infants, of the Queen of Belgium [7870], of the current Pope [6690], of the President of the United States, Mr Coolidge [4169], of the Regent of Hungary, Admiral Horthy [5684], of Il Duce Mussolini [6383], of the Archbishop of Canterbury [4632], of the Countess of Athlone [2447], of the Crown Prince of Italy [7890].

The famous poetess Countess de Noailles sat to him and the painting was bought by the French government for the Musée du Luxembourg [4472].

In the colleges of Oxford, Cambridge and Eton, are portraits of the late Marquis of Curzon, as Chancellor of Oxford [3890], of Lord Balfour, as Chancellor of Cambridge [2707], and of Lord Roberts, at the Memorial Hall of Eton [6924]. All those portraits signed de László form the most remarkable series of contemporary portraits. Most great European museums boast the possession of one of his portraits; the Italian government acquired one for his gallery of modern art, and at the Government Palace in Delhi, one can admire three portraits by László: those of the Viceroys Count Minto [sic, i.e. the Earl of Minto] [3105], Lord Hardinge [111008] and the Count of Reading [sic, i.e. the Marquis of Reading] [6747].

In 1909, the Italian government did him the greatest honour one can pay to a painter when asking him to paint his self-portrait for the gallery of the Immortals, at the gallery of the Uffizi [9724].

The most flattering distinctions have been conferred upon the great painter; he is knight of the Iron Crown of Austria-Hungary, knight of the Legion of Honour, Great Officer of the Crown of Italy, of the Hungarian Order of Merit, of the Order of [interrupted] of the Order of arts and sciences and other German Orders, etc. De László is a member of the Royal Academy of Arts in Milan, of all the greatest art societies in the whole of Europe. Our illustrious host continues the tradition of famous painters of the previous century who have elevated the art of portraiture to the highest degree. In the simple reproduction of a face, they know how to put the hallmark of a generation, its morals, its civilisation. Through truth in the detail and through the strength of the composition, they produce an exact impression, sensation. The portrait of H.M. the Queen of the Belgians [7870] tells all the proud nobility and generous devotion of this great Sovereign and in the portrait of H.R.H. the Crown Prince of Italy [7890], we can find the vivid intelligence and strength of character that define the personality of the future heir to the Crown of Italy.

In 1928, Mr de László was elected unanimously by the Royal Academy of San Fernando, Madrid, as honorary member to fill in the seat left vacant by the death of Bonnat. This distinction is all the more significant that this academy only counts one foreign member to represent all the countries that are not Spanish.

The two portraits of H.M. King Fouad and of H.R.H. Prince Farouk, that Mr de László completed at the Abdine Palace, will splendidly be included in his famous collection of Royal portraits and the portrait of His Majesty will probably be exhibited in London. We would be very happy if, with these portraits completed, one was allowed to admire them, either at the Cairo Salon, or at a private exhibition. The public would thus be able to pay a new tribute of loyalty to his Sovereign and to appreciate the supreme talent of Mr de László.

GALLAD

CC

11/06/2009