István Nécsey

* Verebély, February 12, 1870 – † Munich, March 26, 1902 / painter, bird and butterfly illustrator, amateur entomologist ; ; His father, József Nécsey, was the postmaster of Verebély. He completed secondary school in Nyitra and Bratislava, graduating in 1887. He was attracted to fine arts from childhood, so in 1888 he became a student of Simon Hollósy, a painter living in Munich. In 1890 he continued his studies in Paris. In 1893 he tried to make a living in his hometown with his paintings, which primarily focused on natural themes (birds, butterflies) and works depicting folk culture. Through the intervention of Ottó Herman (Breznóbánya), he managed to gain wider recognition. He illustrated the three-volume book Birds of Hungary. He was also commissioned to illustrate other works (a summary of the Asian research of Jenő Zichy and Béla Posta, a catalogue of Lajos Bíró's New Guinea collection, etc.). He also dealt with entomology, describing 421 species of butterflies from the Verebély area. He also planned to publish a picture book presenting Hungarian butterflies, and he also made nearly 630 colour drawings and paintings for this purpose, which can be found in his legacy preserved in the Barsi Museum in Léva, as well as his butterfly collection, which was the result of his systematic research work from 1893. His private life was unhappy. Due to an unrequited love, he attempted suicide on 5 March 1902. Although he survived, he died three weeks later in a Munich hospital. He was laid to rest in the family crypt in Verebély. ; ; His main works: ; Pentophora morio (Entomological Papers 6. p. 8-10), 1899, ; Observations on the biology of butterflies (Entomological Papers 6.), 1899, ; Large butterflies of Bars county (Entomological Papers, 7. p. 25-30, 59-62, 79-81), 1900, ; An animal farm (Ethnographical Bulletin, 2. p. 29-30).