This painting has come up a couple times in my research, and because of its weird shape my curiosity got the best of me so we’re featuring it here:

(view the full sized image here)

I gave identifying info about this work to Perplexity with the instructions to research it and tell me all the interesting things it could about the work. Here’s what we got:

Step Into a Hungarian Epic

Imagine standing at the heart of a vast, sweeping landscape. Around you, mounted warriors surge forward, banners snapping, horses rearing, a sea of migrating tribes—women, children, elders, animals—spilling across grass and mountain. At the center, a regal figure on a white stallion raises his arm in triumph: Árpád, leader of the Magyars, has led his people to their new homeland. You turn, and the action never stops, for this is not a simple painting but a 360-degree cyclorama—a cinematic time machine pulling you into a day in 895 AD.

This is "A magyarok bejövetele" ("Arrival of the Hungarians"), better known as the Feszty Panorama or Feszty-körkép. Crafted with oil on an epic expanse of canvas (15m tall and 120m long!), this cyclorama isn't merely a painting, it's a nation's founding saga made real.

What the Eye Sees: The Great Migration Unfolds

The story starts on the windswept slopes near the Carpathian foothills. There, warriors with braided hair and tribal cloaks ride at the head of the procession—their faces carved with hope, determination, and a touch of exhaustion after the long journey. Árpád, in shining armor, commands the vista, surrounded by his trusted chiefs.

Elsewhere, families encourage weary oxen dragging carts laden with home and hope. Priests raise their hands in blessing. Shieldmaidens keep a wary eye on passing strangers. A sacrificial white horse is led forward—a spiritual offering for this new beginning. Children clutch their mothers, tales of distant homelands in their eyes. The chaos of battle lingers on dust clouds in the background; the joy of conquest shimmers in the air.

Six grand vignettes seamlessly merge into one: a cavalry charge, the warriors' camp, a tender abduction scene (not everyone arrived by invitation), and, culminating in the dramatic, majestic arrival of the Hungarian tribes at their promised land. All of this unfolds in one continuous, immersive visual symphony.

A Painting That Became a Nation's Touchstone

But why this grand canvas? As Hungary approached its 1000-year anniversary, a wave of national pride crested over the land. Budapest built castles, cities laid down subways, architects and artists sought to inscribe Hungary's story for all ages.

Árpád Feszty—himself swept up by the spectacle of cycloramas he'd seen in Paris—dreamed first of painting the Biblical flood. But persuaded by his father-in-law, the romantic novelist Mór Jókai, he switched to something closer to every Hungarian heart: the fateful moment their ancestors claimed the Carpathian Basin.

Crafting the Cyclorama: Artistry Meets Epic

Feszty wasn't alone in this venture—he commanded a league of fellow artists. László Mednyánszky sculpted the landscape's haunting haze, Ignác Újváry helped lay the clouds, Pál Vágó and Henrik Papp filled the thronging hosts and dramatic encounters, Celesztin Pállya painted the encampments, and more. The entire process was a marathon of artistry and research; Feszty even trekked to the legendary Verecke Pass to study the exact site where the tribes entered Hungary.

The result was unveiled in 1894, months of public anticipation culminating in widespread awe. With meticulous attention to ethnographic detail, romantic drama, and national symbolism, the painting became a centerpiece for Hungary's millennium celebration and a touchstone of modern Hungarian identity.

Inspiration, Meaning, and Modern Legacy

Beyond grand pageantry, the cyclorama whispers of rootlessness, hope, and transformation: it's about leaving a past behind, forging a new nation from scratch, and the complex, sometimes tragic, heroes who made it possible. Its immersive style, blending naturalism with drama and a three-dimensional installation, pulls viewers not just beside history's heroes—but into their ranks.

Ravaged and nearly lost in World War II, this immense panorama was painstakingly restored and now stands, more than ever, as a national treasure at Ópusztaszer, where visitors can be swept into Hungary's foundation myth and, perhaps, find echoes of their own migrations and new beginnings.

Meet the Visionary Behind the Brush—Árpád Feszty

Árpád Feszty (1856–1914) was nothing if not bold. Born to a large family in Ógyalla, Hungary (now Slovakia), he was a dreamer from the start—running away at sixteen, scraping as an actor, before returning to study art in Munich, Vienna, and later Paris. His fame was sealed with epic, stirring tableaux from Hungary's history and Christian lore, but "Arrival of the Hungarians" is his masterpiece, fusing painstaking ethnographic detail, emotion, and state-of-the-art spectacle. His later years brought travel, smaller works, and struggle, but his grand vision endures—every brushstroke a beat in Hungary's collective heart.

Step inside the cyclorama, and you step into the ancient dust of a nation's first morning—one brushstroke at a time.

To see it is to remember: every people, even the mightiest, once arrived at the edge of an unknown land, carrying everything they were—and all they might become.

And that's it!

If you have any details you think Perplexity left out, reply to this email and I'll adjust my prompt to nudge it to include it next time.

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Thanks for reading!

-JP

Current prompt: I want you to create a newsletter post describing the fun and exciting stories around a painting. It should be a newsletter read for leisure and should be an enjoyable read (not just a list of facts) here's what you’re gonna do: Find the name of the following painting in its original language and any alternative names it goes by. Then Research the painting and give me blurb telling me all you can about the artist, the historical context/events it was created in, the style, the materials used, the composition and visual elements, the story/underlying message, what inspired the work/what it meant to the author, and whatever other info you find that helps give a complete understanding of the work. A description of what is depicted (mention subjects) should be the first thing, while the “biography” of the artist should be last. if the work has a lot of meaning behind it, then that is what the meat of the newsletter should be. Besides that you are free to present the information in a concise and captivating way, with the most interesting and novel stuff closest to the top. Order the presentation of information for which pieces have the most compelling and interesting story to tell. At least some of the description should be formatted like a story. [for example: a couple sits on a bench watching the sunset while a man next to them…]. ONLY include information that is for THIS SPECIFIC PAINTING. you will find info on paintings similar to this one but NOT this one. OMMIT INFO ABOUT SUCH PIECES. remember, the goal is to make the most compelling, intriguing, and fun to read newsletter as possible, so keep that above all else.