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The glory of the 1848-1849 Revolution and War of Independence and the national bereavement that followed its tragic outcome were depicted relatively rarely in Hungarian genre paintings. This was one of the reasons why the Hungarian National Gallery purchased a previously unknown painting entitled "Consolation" by the acknowledged portrait and genre painter, Alajos Györgyi Giergl. The picture, painted in 1852, shows a girl grieving for her lover, who has set off to fight in battle. An old suttler woman, dressed in homeguard's uniform, tries to console her. The picture is filled with romantic emotions. The finely painted scene was probably very well received in its time, when Austrian censorship did not allow making more direct references to the fateful events.
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