The Great King | Historical Art
I love history.
I love to paint historical themes.
I love to paint historical military themes.
I love to paint historical military themes and figures.
It is hard to pinpoint where my original fascination with this theme began. It is quite possible that it is genetic. My grandfather with whom I was close had a lot of interest in this topic. After all, he was knighted during WW2 for bravery as a bomber pilot, and then he later became a history teacher. It is also equally possible that it was my environment. My grandmother, his wife, forced me to read Hungarian history every day of the summer before we were allowed to go and play. Maybe it was pure brainwashing. In my youth, in the boy scouts, we would always reenact the historical battles of Hungary (we still do to this day).
Regardless, these early childhood events definitely stirred within me an interest in the history that then perpetuated through my life to present day. Throughout high school, I was given various opportunities to learn expand my history be it my Civilizations class, or my American History class or learning about Vietnam in my American Literature class. When I entered university, I was given the freedom to study anything, so I chose to study the ancient Roman and Greek empires. I almost minored in it. Then when I was doing my post-doc, I met a friend who motivated me to learn on my own about the American Civil War. This has been a passion for the better half of a decade now, and I still do not know as much as he does. He now has me onto the American Revolutionary War.
I think what fascinates me most with history is that it is very person-centric. When you read about battles, the logistics of the mass movement of people is not exciting, but the individual experiences and perspectives of the generals and soldiers - that is interesting. In people is where the story of history lies.
When it concerns people, it is overwhelming to think ...
Julius Caesar lived 2100 years ago and created one of the most advanced empires of all time
Genghis Khan lived 800 years ago, and his Mongolian empire brought fear to the world
Christopher Columbus lived 500 years ago, and sailed in a rickety wooden ship west to discover new worlds
George Washington lived 250 years ago and was the first president of the United States after leading a successful revolution
Martin Luther King live 50 years ago and transformed our nation
When I stand physically where U.S. Grant stood on the battlefields in the Civil War or in the royal city of Saint Stephen I King of Hungary, it humbles me to recall what lives they had to endure so many years ago. That is why I love drawing and painting such figures because it is a tribute to the great humans who came before us; who lived their lives to accomplish what at their time was the most important thing. Knowing their environment and struggles, it reminds me to be thankful for modern healthcare, technology, and the internet. It reminds me that great things will come and go, and no matter what, life moves forward. It reminds me that my problems and issues are insignificant and that I can overcome them.
Each of my historical figure or theme artwork is in effect a very spiritual "acknowledgement" of that individual for shaping our world, good or bad, and that it means something.