ALCONIÈRE, THEODORE

ALCONIÈRE, THEODORE (Herman Cohn; 1797–1865), Hungarian painter. Alconière received his training in Vienna and then spent some years in Rome, where he acquired his dramatic romantic style. While in Italy he was appointed court portraitist to the duke of Parma. In 1848 he moved to Hungary, where he painted many equestrian portraits of the nobility and scenes from everyday life. After 1850 he lived mainly in Vienna. Impoverished, he began supporting himself by the production of humorous lithographs and even took to counterfeiting banknotes. However, his conscience troubled him and instead of circulating the money, he handed himself over to the police. He died two years later in a Vienna hospital. Alconière was the most distinguished Jewish painter among the first generation of Hungarian nationalists. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Roth, Art, 555–6.