Militant portraits. The promotion of Hungarian National History through nineteenth‑century graphics. Case study

This work presents a series of group portraits of past Transylvanian leaders and of nineteenth-century politicians, signed by Magyari Lajos and Miklós Barabás, from the heritage of the National Museum of Transylvanian History in Cluj-Napoca. Throughout the nineteenth century, as nationalist sentiment expanded in Europe, interest in national history and historical figures was extremely high and people genuinely revered historical figures. The cult of these personalities was intensively cultivated, in all environments. There was major popular enthusiasm, in an atmosphere animated by the patriotic spirit. This subject was frequently approached in the periodicals of the nineteenth century, which published not only historical prose and biographies, but also images, which ensured a greater impact of these publications on the public. The Hungarian society of the era developed a genuine educational program based on the heroic past and on portraits of personalities.