Motif in Park 1900

Ladislav Mednyánszky made this drawing of a park probably sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. We see a simple wooden fence marking the perimeter of a clearing, looking out over a landscape, with trees providing a leafy canopy. Born to a Hungarian aristocratic family, Mednyánszky studied at the Munich Academy, and spent much of his career in Paris. But he repeatedly returned to Hungary, where he made numerous landscape paintings. The park was a very modern phenomenon in Mednyánszky's time. It represented the democratization of the landscape, and a new conception of nature as something separate from agricultural and industrial production. The park was a place where one could relax and enjoy the beauties of nature in a curated form. But who had access to these spaces? Who was excluded? These parks were often located in wealthy neighborhoods. As art historians, we have to consider the social context that shapes the creation and reception of artworks like this. We can look at maps and demographic surveys to learn more about who had access to such spaces during Mednyánszky's time.