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Primary sourcePainting1845

Sándor Petőfi Drawn by Miklós Barabás

Miklós Barabás · 1845

An oval reproduction of a 1845 drawing of the young poet Sándor Petőfi by the artist Miklós Barabás.

This is a contemporary likeness of Petőfi drawn in 1845, a few years before he became a leading revolutionary figure.

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Oval black-and-white reproduction of a drawing of a young man with swept-back dark hair and a thin mustache, wearing a high-collared, frogged-fastening jacket, one hand on his hip. Caption below reads 'Petőfi 1845-ben' and 'Barabás Miklós korrajza után'.
Miklós Barabás, Sándor Petőfi Drawn in 1845, reproduction.

About this source

What it is

This oval image reproduces a drawing made in 1845 by Miklós Barabás, showing Sándor Petőfi as a young man with swept-back hair and a thin mustache, wearing a high-collared jacket. The caption below reads 'Petőfi 1845-ben' (Petőfi in 1845).

Why it matters

Made during Petőfi's lifetime, this drawing is one of several contemporary images that show how the poet looked in his mid-twenties, shortly before he became a central figure of the 1848 revolution. It reflects the fashion for portrait drawings of Hungarian writers in this period.

Look closer

  • How does this image compare to other portraits of Petőfi from around the same years?
  • What might the pose, with his hand on his hip, suggest about how he wanted to be portrayed?
  • Why do you think artists repeatedly drew and painted Petőfi during his short life?

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.

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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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