Watering 

Károly Lotz painted this rural scene of horses at a watering hole in Hungary sometime in the late 19th century. The scene seems simple enough, but it evokes a particular vision of Hungarian identity rooted in the countryside. The painting presents an image of Hungary in which man and nature exist in harmony, one that is distinct from the concerns of the city. In the late 1800s, paintings like this spoke to a desire for national self-determination that could not be addressed directly because of Hungary’s place within the Austro-Hungarian empire. It is significant that this painting was made at the same time as the establishment of museums and art schools in Hungary. Artists like Lotz helped establish a national artistic tradition, a tradition that continues to inform Hungarian identity to this day. Careful historical research can reveal the social and political conditions that shaped this seemingly simple genre painting.