Young Maids after the Ball

This painting is a fine example of the Viennese influence on Hungarian genre painting.

In Borsos’ picture, brocades, pleats, ribbons, jewels, candelabra, fashion magazines and carpet patterns rival one another in depicting the atmosphere after the girls’ ball and the grandiose surroundings. The artist arranged the scene himself as if it were a tableau vivante according to the fashion of those days. Borsos, who portrayed the life of the upper class, tested himself as a stage director. The spell of the night, gossip and musing, a kind of freshness which made the artist want to arrest the irrevocable charm of the moment. The artist’s daughter was one of the models.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 3 minutes):

Johannes Brahms: Hungarian Dance No 6