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Primary sourcePhotograph1844

Sándor Petőfi

Gábor Egressy · 1844

The only photograph of Petőfi taken in his lifetime, a daguerreotype made in 1844 by Gábor Egressy.

This is the only photographic likeness of Petőfi made during his own lifetime.

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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.
Gábor Egressy, daguerreotype of Sándor Petőfi, 1844.

About this source

What it is

This daguerreotype, made in 1844 by Gábor Egressy, is the only known photograph taken of the poet Sándor Petőfi during his life. It shows a young man with dark, swept-back hair, a dark jacket and a light cravat.

Why it matters

Because photography was still new and rare in Hungary in the 1840s, this image is a uniquely direct record of Petőfi's appearance, unlike the many later paintings and statues made from memory or imagination after his death. It grounds the legendary revolutionary poet in a real, documented moment.

Look closer

  • What does Petőfi's expression and posture suggest about how he wanted to be seen?
  • Why might a daguerreotype from this period look grainy or scratched compared to a modern photograph?
  • How might this one surviving image have shaped later paintings and depictions of Petőfi?

This photograph 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.

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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)

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

Book

Primary source

At the End of September

Sándor Petőfi · September 1847

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