Portrait of Arnold Ipolyi

Gyula Benczúr (28 January 1844 – 16 July 1920) was a Hungarian painter and art teacher. An "outstanding exponent of academicism", he specialized in portraits and historical scenes. He is "considered one of the greatest Hungarian masters of historicism".

Benczúr was born in the city of Nyíregyháza on 28 January 1844, to Vilmos Benczúr and Paulina Laszgallner. He came from an old noble family on his father's side. His family moved to Kassa (now Košice) when he was still very young and he displayed an early talent for drawing. He began his studies in 1861 with Hermann Anschutz and Johann Georg Hiltensperger (1806–1890). From 1865 to 1869, he studied with Karl von Piloty. In 1869, Benczúr traveled to Italy to pursue further studies.

He achieved international success in 1870 when he won the Hungarian national competition for historical painting with his depiction of King Stephen's baptism. He then assisted Piloty with the frescoes at the Maximilianeum and the Rathaus in Munich and illustrated books by the great German writer, Friedrich Schiller. King Ludwig II of Bavaria gave him several commissions.