My exploration of Miksa Fenyő’s life and critical career is based upon the hypothesis that his chosen critical approach—what I call impressionistic, or perception-based criticism—also offered an opportunity for him to create and develop his identity. I therefore state that Fenyő’s critical writings provide valuable insights into his various works of life writing. In other words, Fenyő’s reviews should not be categorized as a separate entity, but rather as a further means of understanding his memoir, journal, travelogue and biography. The organic relationship that connects the different forms and periods of his work also means that I look to later works for details that may explain his earlier writings. In light of the fact that he chose to be remembered primarily as one of Nyugat’s founding members, editors and critics, it must be mentioned that Fenyő generally refrained from detailing the precise nature of his work at GyOSz; a similar silence surrounded his Jewish origins. My research therefore combines periodical studies, life writing and textual analysis in order to explore the network of means that united a capitalistic, industrial association such as GyOSz with the literary formation of the journal, Nyugat.