Mihály Mészáros, Hungarian sculptor, was born on 21 January 1930 in Rákospalota and passed away on 31 July 2008 in Budapest.

He was a student at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts from 1949 to 1954, studying under Pál Pátzay, Sándor Mikus, and Zsigmond Kisfaludy-Stróbl.

He was a versatile artist, known for using a wide range of materials, such as clay-terracotta, wax, bronze, lead, enamel, concrete, stone, wood, copper plate….

His work was recognized throughout Europe with numerous awards, including the 4th National Statuette Biennale Prize in Pécs (1974), the Dante Award of Ravenna (1975), the Munkácsy Prize (1976), and the Ludwig Award of the Professional Association of Austrian Fine Artists [Berufsvereinigung der bildenden Künstler Österreichs] (1985).

For decades, he served as the foreign relations officer of the Hungarian Association of Fine Arts. He won several European scholarships, including ones in Vienna (1966), Brussels (1969), and London (1963 and 1970), and was elected a full member of the Vienna Künstlerhaus.

During the 1960s and 70s, socialist realism was the dominant and mandatory artistic direction in Hungary. The exposure to European scholarships greatly influenced his art and vision, leading him to develop a broader and more colourful artistic palette. In a literal sense, he found a new way to mould his sculptures into shape: an ancient precision metal-casting technique – long forgotten in Hungary – which he learned during his first trip to England, the lost-wax bronze casting, also known as “cire perdue”. He built a furnace in his Budapest studio and casted his own statuettes.

This is still not common among sculptors, and was completely unique in Hungary during the 1960s and 70s.

He was a true European artist and personality, speaking four languages, fascinated by Europe's cultural wealth and diversity. His art was greatly influenced by mythology, religion, and the respect for common European values and traditions appeared in it.

He often depicted figures such as Orpheus and Eurydice, Icarus, Daedalus, Moses, and characters from Dante's Divine Comedy, as well as figures such as Jesus and Saint Sebastian.

His sculptures are the testimonies of his humanist philosophy, respect for people, and love for humanity.