Antal Diosy

Antal Diósy (* June 18, 1895 in Budapest; † August 22, 1977 in Budapest) was a Hungarian painter, graphic artist and tapestry designer who was awarded the Mihály Munkácsy Prize. He was married to the costume designer Teréz Nagyajtay.

Diósy received his artistic training at the School of Arts and Crafts in Budapest under Aladár Körösfői-Kriesch and at the Academy of Fine Arts. In 1923, he spent a long time in Romania, where he created caricatures of Hungarian literary figures and public personalities. The collection was published in two volumes in 1923 under the title Ecce homo! with a foreword by István Illés Győri. The first volume, Kolozsvár’s Distorted Mirror, portrays personalities such as Artúr Balogh, Károly Kós and Sándor Reményik. The second volume, Nagyvárad’s Distorted Mirror, contains caricatures of personalities such as Emil Adorján and Irén Gulácsy.

He enjoyed success as an illustrator in the Netherlands and France and was honored at the 1937 Paris World Exhibition for his frescoes in the restaurant of the Hungarian pavilion. In Budapest, Diósy taught painting at the Hungarian College of Applied Arts (1941-47). In addition to his work as an illustrator, he designed stamps and tapestries, but specialized in watercolour painting, mostly portraits, landscapes and cityscapes.

Public works
The Vision of Constantine (fresco, before 1920, Zebegény, church, with Aladár Körösfői Kriesch)
Election of King Matthias (fresco, 1929, Parliament building)
Ceiling paintings (1938, Kálvarien Chapel, Kőbánya)
Memberships
Founding member of the Cenini Society (1920)
Vice president of the Association of Watercolor and Pastel Painters
Awards
Watercolor Prize of the Capital City of Budapest (1930)
State Watercolor Prize (1932, 1938)
Winner of the Balaton Watercolor Competition (1935)
Grand Prix (1937)
Gold Medal at the International Exhibition in New York (1939)
Gold medal at the VII. International Exhibition of Applied Arts in Milan (1940)
Order of Merit of Labor in Gold (1965)
Mihály Munkácsy Prize (1971)
Award for Meritorious Artist (1977)