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The work of János Márton Stock - born in Nagyszeben - occupied an outstanding and special place in Transylvanian painting of the late eighteenth century. His popularity was equally due to the fact that he was a talented artist with an ability to express himself in simple and moderate pictorial language free of irrelevant devices and to the fact that he enjoyed the patronage of Samuel Brukenthal, then Governor of Transylvania. The portrait of Sámuel Teleki with that of Samuel Brukenthal in the background was known as the "friendship picture" - a type of painting rare in Hungarian art.
Spiritual and intellectual relationship and an identity of aims and interests are the conditions and characteristics of such portraits. The two men portrayed here were prominent both in official and cultural life, anxious to improve the common lot and to bring culture and scientific knowledge to Transylvania. The means by which these aims were to be achieved was a subject of great concern to the freemasons whose activities extended to Transylvania. As members of the masonic movement, Teleki and Brukenthal helped to encourage and supervise the methodical preparation of an encyclopaedia undertaken by the Nagyszeben masonic lodge, project intended to cover the history and contemporary conditions of all three nations inhabiting the region.
Stock portrayed both Teleki and Brukenthal at their desks, Teleki in Hungarian national costume in the pose commonly adopted by scientists, and placed him against a background suggesting a workroom. In the background the portrait showing Brukenthal dressed in lighter garments and in a pose appropriate to a French encyclopaedist-philosopher, provides a fitting detail for the interior. In addition to the figures, the picture includes a motif relating to freemasonry: on the desk, among other objects suggesting scientific work, there is a map of Transylvania with the names of the cities where freemasons were particularly active. The bust of Joseph II, also on the desk, is similarly significant in that the Edict of Tolerance issued by the Emperor in 1781 made Sámuel Teleki's public career possible, permitting, amongst other things, his appointment as Vice Chancellor of Transylvania in 1787.
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