Ádám Mányoki (1673–1757), who came from a family of Reformed ministers, spent most of his life abroad and as a painter committed himself to the portrait genre. At the beginning of his career, living in the Hannover area and in Braunschweig, and after 1700 in Hamburg and Berlin, he got to study the works of 17th-century Dutch and contemporary English and French portrait painters, and they had a lasting impact on him. By profound studying the works of Rembrandt's followers, he mastered sophisticated brush technique, complex light-shadow structure, careful handling of details and a calm, intimate way of representation. At the same time, under the influence of fashionable trends among the German aristocracy, Mányoki also strove for elegance and the decorative arrangement of details, and he understood well how to achieve a pleasing overall effect built from refined details. It was painted in 1707 by Princess Charlotte Amalie of Hessen-Rheinfels, Portrait of the wife of Ferenc Rákóczi the 2nd. The prince invited him home this year, and the artist worked in Hungary for two years as his court painter. In 1709, Rákóczi entrusted him with tasks related to political goals and sent him to Poland, then to Netherlands and Berlin - in the latter city he was able to paint his excellent self-portrait (Hungarian National Gallery) - and in 1712 invited him to Gdańsk, where Mányoki painted the famous portrait of the prince (also MNG). After serving in Rákóczi, he worked as a court painter in Warsaw and later in Dresden. From 1724, he worked again in Hungary for a few years, he wanted to settle here, but due to a lack of clients he could not establish himself, so he ended his life as a court painter of the Elector of Saxony in Dresden.
(Published: Vonzások és változások / Affinities and Transformations. Exhibition catalogue. Ed.: Fertőszögi, Péter–Szinyei Merse, Anna. Budapest, Kovács Gábor Art Foundation–Hungarian National Museum, 2013. p. 5-6)