Object numberM2015/011:002
DescriptionThis is a black pencil drawing of a racial character possibly of antisemitic nature. It shows a head & shoulders profile of an ugly looking man with big warty nose, spectacles and an oversized chin, wearing white shirt, tie and suit. A funny hat with a feather sitting on the top of his bold head. Text under the drawing is not fully legible but has been identified as Onody, 'Judenfresser'(Jew eater) or 'Judenfratze' (Jewish face, caricature, wry face) and at the bottom 'Nach einer Photographie abgenommen' (done after a photograph).
The topic of these three black pencil drawings of racial character, which were thought to be of anti-Semitic nature, were identified by Zsuzsanna Toronyi , Director of the Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archive in Budapest, as portraits of three of the founders of the first Anti-Semitic party in Hungary, Győző Istóczy, Iván Simonyi and Géza Ónody. Their portraits were well-known from newspapers. The National Anti-Semitic Party was founded in 1883 after the blood-libel of Tiszaeszlár in 1882.
The Tiszaeszlár Affair was a blood libel which led to a trial that set off anti-semitic agitation in Austria-Hungary in 1882 and 1883. After the disappearance of a local girl, Eszter Solymosi, Jews were accused of ritually murdering her. A lengthy trial followed, eventually resulting in the acquittal of all the accused.
In conclusion, in our opinion, it is possible to interpret the three caricatures as being not forthright anti-Semitic but as a satire against anti-Semites, ie cartoons making mockery of the 1880s Hungarian anti-Semitic movement. It is probable that a late 1880’s newspaper illustration or photography or even an article (denying the anti-Semitic feelings of the main propagators), motivated a Jewish (or pro-Semitic) artist to comment on the contemporary and rapidly spreading ideology. To date, we were not yet able to fully establish the attribution of the ‘A. Krakauer’ artist. No artists/illustrator/ caricaturist of that name was known to the curators in the Jewish Museum in Vienna and Budapest.
According to the donor, her father Henry Langford always maintained that the artist was A. Krakauer (ie. also deciphered the initials as A.K.) However, no artists/illustrator/ caricaturist of that name was known to the curators in the Jewish Museum in Vienna and Budapest.
The character in this picture:
Géza Ónody, (1848–?), Hungarian antisemitic leader connected with the blood libel case ,Tiszaeszlar’in 1882, one the leading spokesmen for the anti-Jewish agitation which followed in the wake of the libel. Ónody sought to "prove" the authenticity of the blood libel against a historic background. When the antisemitic party was organized in Hungary in 1883, he became one of its leaders, together with Győző Istóczy.
Donated by Trish Langford-Howes from her father's (Henry Langford) possession. Henry identified the author of the drawings as A. Krakauer (see enclosed image and Notes).
The topic of these three black pencil drawings of racial character, which were thought to be of anti-Semitic nature, were identified by Zsuzsanna Toronyi , Director of the Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archive in Budapest, as portraits of three of the founders of the first Anti-Semitic party in Hungary, Győző Istóczy, Iván Simonyi and Géza Ónody. Their portraits were well-known from newspapers. The National Anti-Semitic Party was founded in 1883 after the blood-libel of Tiszaeszlár in 1882.
The Tiszaeszlár Affair was a blood libel which led to a trial that set off anti-semitic agitation in Austria-Hungary in 1882 and 1883. After the disappearance of a local girl, Eszter Solymosi, Jews were accused of ritually murdering her. A lengthy trial followed, eventually resulting in the acquittal of all the accused.
In conclusion, in our opinion, it is possible to interpret the three caricatures as being not forthright anti-Semitic but as a satire against anti-Semites, ie cartoons making mockery of the 1880s Hungarian anti-Semitic movement. It is probable that a late 1880’s newspaper illustration or photography or even an article (denying the anti-Semitic feelings of the main propagators), motivated a Jewish (or pro-Semitic) artist to comment on the contemporary and rapidly spreading ideology. To date, we were not yet able to fully establish the attribution of the ‘A. Krakauer’ artist. No artists/illustrator/ caricaturist of that name was known to the curators in the Jewish Museum in Vienna and Budapest.
According to the donor, her father Henry Langford always maintained that the artist was A. Krakauer (ie. also deciphered the initials as A.K.) However, no artists/illustrator/ caricaturist of that name was known to the curators in the Jewish Museum in Vienna and Budapest.
The character in this picture:
Géza Ónody, (1848–?), Hungarian antisemitic leader connected with the blood libel case ,Tiszaeszlar’in 1882, one the leading spokesmen for the anti-Jewish agitation which followed in the wake of the libel. Ónody sought to "prove" the authenticity of the blood libel against a historic background. When the antisemitic party was organized in Hungary in 1883, he became one of its leaders, together with Győző Istóczy.
Donated by Trish Langford-Howes from her father's (Henry Langford) possession. Henry identified the author of the drawings as A. Krakauer (see enclosed image and Notes).
Subjectracial discrimination, caricatures, antisemitism, Jews, cartoons
Object namedrawings
Dimensions
- drawing width: 202.00 mm
height: 342.00 mm
with cardboard width: 268.00 mm
height: 406.00 mm
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Trish Langford-Howes