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Primary sourcePainting1846

Portrait of Sándor Petőfi

Miklós Barabás / József Tyroler · 1846

An engraved portrait of the poet Sándor Petőfi made during his lifetime by the artist Miklós Barabás.

This is a contemporary portrait of Petőfi made during his lifetime, showing his appearance as a young poet.

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Black and white engraved portrait of a young man with wavy hair, a thin mustache and a small goatee, wearing a white collar and a dark button-fronted jacket. Handwritten signature below reads Petőfi Sándor. Printed artist credits are visible in the margins.
Miklós Barabás / József Tyroler, Portrait of Sándor Petőfi, 1846.

About this source

What it is

This engraving, made in 1846 by Miklós Barabás (with engraving by József Tyroler), shows a young man with wavy hair, a thin mustache and a small goatee. A handwritten signature reading 'Petőfi Sándor' appears below the image.

Why it matters

Because it was made while Petőfi was alive, this portrait is one of the most reliable images of how the poet actually looked, before his death in 1849 during the Hungarian Revolution. It shows how contemporaries wanted to present the young poet to the public.

Look closer

  • What does the clothing and expression suggest about how Petőfi wanted to be seen?
  • Why might an engraving, rather than a painting, have been used to spread this image widely?
  • What is missing from a portrait like this that a photograph might show instead?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Sándor Petőfi on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Sándor Petőfi sources

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Handwritten manuscript on aged, yellowed paper titled 'Nemzeti dal' in cursive Hungarian script, with crossed-out lines and revisions, a round stamp at left and a dated stamp at lower right, and a signature at the bottom right.Book

Primary source

Nemzeti dal

Sándor Petőfi · 13 March 1848

Printed broadside of the poem Nemzeti dal (National Song) by Sándor Petőfi, in Hungarian, two columns of verse with a handwritten dedication note in cursive at the bottom and the signature Petőfi Sándor.Document

Primary source

Nemzetidal broadside

Sándor Petőfi · 15 March 1848

Front cover of the first edition of János Vitéz by Sándor Petőfi. Title reads 'JÁNOS VITÉZ, Irta PETŐFI SÁNDOR, Ára 40 kr. p.p.' with a drawing of a hussar on a rearing white horse, with a village and river in the background. Printer's line at bottom: 'Nyomt. Gumm Vnél, Pesten'.Book

Primary source

János vitéz

Sándor Petőfi · 1845 (written 1844)

Black-and-white portrait of a young man with dark, swept-back hair, dark jacket, and light-colored cravat, looking at the viewer with a serious expression. He holds a dark object at lower left. The image is grainy and scratched.Photograph

Primary source

Sándor Petőfi

Gábor Egressy · 1844

Oil painting of a young man with a dark pompadour hairstyle and a thick curled mustache, wearing a dark jacket, white collar and red cravat, against a warm golden-brown background. Signature and date in red at lower right.Painting

Primary source

Portrait of Sándor Petőfi

Orlai Petrich Soma

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