Gyula Tornai was born in 1861 in a small town in Hungary known as Görgö. He began his artistic career seeking a formal education in the academies in Vienna, Munich and Budapest where he studied under prominent artists such as Hans Makart and Gyula Benczúr.

Tornai's style was heavily influenced by Makart's aestheticism and tonality known as Makartstil ("Makart's style" in German). The vibrantly colored and theatrical, large-scale paintings held a lasting effect on Tornai and are evident in the complex nature of many of his works.

Tornai began his career painting numerous genre scenes, however after his travels to more exotic locales, his choice of subjects changed dramatically. His ea...