Capitulation of the Hungarian Troops at Világos on 13 August 1849: General A. Görgey Surrenders to the Russian General F.V. Rüdiger, watercolour and tempera on card, 108 x 314 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private Collection, Italy.

We are grateful to Dr. Cav. Arabella Cifani for the scholarly advice and cataloguing of this work.

The watercolour depicts an important episode of the 1848/49 revolutions: the capitulation of Világos, in the Romanian region of Crişana, near which the Hungarian troops commanded by General
A. Görgey surrendered to the Russian General F. V. Rüdiger on 13 August 1849. The surrender put an end to the Hungarian revolution.

Shown here is the vast Világos flood plain; the commanders of the Hungarian army, their blue uniforms adorned with gold details, surrendering to the Russian General F.V. Rüdiger, an ally of the Emperor of Austria. Hungarians, on foot, hand over their sabres to their mounted victors, while on the left a picket guard grants them the honours of war. The Hungarian standard-bearers and, on the right, the rest of the Hungarian army, have dismounted from their horses and are breaking their sabres.

The scene is painted with the utmost precision, including the landscape; in the background the ruins of a medieval castle which still exists today can be seen on a steep mountain, and at the foot of the castle the small village of Világos is well outlined.