oil, board, 35×80 cm
1983

Shepherds in Hortobágy

One of the most important themes of Imre Égerházi’s painting was the Great Hungarian Plain, specifically Hortobágy. He made hundreds of excellent paintings on Hortobágy and many of them bear the word Hortobágy in their titles. From 1982, he reorganized the Hortobágy artists’ colony, which operated since the 1920s, under the name Hortobágy Creative Camp. Under his leadership, the camp, which invites painters, graphic artists and photographers, has grown into an internationally recognized colony of artists. Unusually, the creative camp welcomed the artists not in the summer, but in two-week shifts between February 15 and March 15. Of course, in addition to the organizational tasks, Imre Égerházi also had the opportunity to make more and more beautiful works about the plain. The unique nine-hole bridge in Hortobágy is virtually the single architectural landmark in the landscape and therefore the artists working here paint it regularly.

This painting, born in 1983, is a characteristic representation of Imre Égerházi. The painter was interested not only in the beauty of the landscape, but also in the people living in that landscape and their fate. Therefore, he was happy to depict the locals of the theme of his artwork. With his peculiar painting style, he tried to depict not only the facial features of people, but also their destiny.

The facial expressions of the three shepherds reflect the hardships of their difficult way of life and work during the winter period, at the time of painting. When Imre Égerházi compiled a comprehensive life work material from art, one of his favourite was Shepherds in Hortobágy.

The painting is the property of the Déri Museum in Debrecen, donated on the occasion of Imre Égerházi’s 70th birthday, with more than 100 graphics, linocuts and monotypes at the same time.