Benczúr Julius - Reading women in the woods

Benczúr Julius (1844-1920) - Reading women in the woods (1875)

Hungarian Stamp Issued in 1966

Benczur was a Hungarian born painter who gained some international recognition during his career which included a large amount of time in Munich, Germany undertaking a professorship.  He mainly did paintings of the upper classes and aristocrats when he returned to Hungary and his name is now carried by a street in Budapest.

This painting is rather idyllic and stylised for the time - an upper class 19th century lady manages to peacefully read a book in the woods in the summertime, without being attacked by flies and insects.  The stamp is a poor reproduction of the original painting, which can be found here.