In Europe's Princely Courts Ádám Mányoki – Actors and venues of a portraitst's career

Mányoki is still generally believed in Hungary to have been Ferenc Rákóczi II's court painter in the first place. It is common knowledge that the prince's familiar and, mora important still, authentic, portraits were painted by him, while it is little known that his lifework contributed considerably to 18th century German portrait painting.

Although the last showing of the artist's pictures was as long ago as in 1957, the aim was not to give a full cross-section of the lifework now. We intended to so many venues by selecting some of his most representative works and to acquaint the public with Mányoki as a court painter of major European art centres. To this end, not only the works and European art centres. To this end, not only the works and through them the actors of this end, not only the works and through them the actors of this rich career are presented but also the venues: Dresden, Warsaw, Berlin, Leipzig and Vienna of the baroque age, via some court events at places. This goal is served by the ensemble of 90 paintings, engravings, tapestries, medals and archival documents, including 49 paintings by Mányoki most of which Hungarian museums visitors will see for the first time.

Owing to the natural of the career, the majority of the works are preserved in foreign collections, so this exhibition was staged with broad international participation. Apart from the major partners, the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden and Stiftung Preussische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg, another six German, three Polish and a Slovakian museum and library lent works for the exhibition, while the Hungarian museum and collections (Museum of Fine Arts, Hungarian National Museum, National Szévóchényi Library, Hungarian National Archives, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Ráday Library and Collection, Déri Museum Debrecen, City Gallery Miskolc, Smidt Museum Szombathely) provided valuable material for the period of Mányoki's career thet coincided with the beginning of Rákóczi's war of independence the 300th anniversary of which is celebrated this year.