Farm-yard with Girl in Red Skirt 1890

Bertalan Szekely painted "Farm-yard with Girl in Red Skirt" with oil on cardboard. Szekely was working in a time of great social and political change in Hungary, with burgeoning nationalist movements. Here, Szekely presents a young girl in a red skirt, set against the backdrop of a humble farmyard. The figure is anonymous, she could be anyone, yet the bright splash of her skirt draws our eye. What does it mean to represent rural life and labor? Szekely shows us a simple moment in time, a quiet scene away from the urban centers that typically preoccupied artists of the time. In his paintings, Szekely often explored themes of national identity and history. This painting captures a sense of Hungarian identity rooted in the land, the people, and everyday life. It invites us to reflect on the lives and experiences of ordinary people, while subtly questioning what a national identity really means.