Page 24 - Studio International - December 1965

Hungarian sculpture of today

by lstvan Solymar

It is surprising to see, even for foreigners vIsIting time. The three factors of artistic life, the artist, the one
Hungary, how many new statues stand everywhere in who orders and the public are not in such an accord
towns, squares, parks but mostly in the surroundings as one would wish them to be but there are tendencies
of blocks of flats. In Hungary two-thousandth of the on the part of those who commission to release the
sums dedicated for constructional investments. Is exaggerated constraints and on the part of the public
devoted to works of fine art; this two-thousandth is to be better informed in art. However, artists-even in
the material basis of commissions. a freer creative atmosphere-are not longing for a
It would be difficult to form a critical opinion about break away from the tradition of the human element. It
new statues in general. Many of them represent is very characteristic and one must say of great value
creations of artistic value, fit into their surroundings, in the Hungarian artists' perception that they don't
contribute to enriching the everyday life of the inhabit­ accept creation either as art for art's sake or for a
ants; others are of decorative purpose and value, others limited individual aspect but for a human service.
again-accomplished mostly at the end of the forties Nowadays this service is by no means a certain
and at the beginning of the fifties-are mannered propaganda attitude but time and again it is a criticaf
academic works. Sooner or later the quantity of the behaviour. too, with a persuasion that it is to the
works affects-as at every age and every place-the advantage of the public.
Mikl6s Borsos
Orpheus quality and brings forth interest and public at the same Hungarian artists are not disposed-at least not
those who work at home-to contribute to introducing
innovations and surprises in the form of our age. It
was essentially the same as one hundred years ago.
Today their attempt tends rather towards a synthesis
and with the best it is this specifically local savour that
gives body into their works. In this way the aspect of
Hungarian art is more characteristic and less provincial
than if imitations of fashionable international novelties
determined the creators· activity.
Ferenc Medgyessy·s (1881-1958) simple, forceful
sculpture of popular character or Laszlo Meszaros·
(1905-1938) saturated sculptural language, in content
as well as in form exemplify the most significant, direct
tradition of today. Among the recently dead masters
Mark Vedres· (1870-1963) fine. sincere small-plastic
art. Dezso Bokros Birman's (1889-1965) sometimes
naive, original and strongly expressive sculptural works
continue to make impression.
Out of the living elder masters Beni Ferenczy (born
in 1890), rises with the classical beauty of his­
mostly-small plastic art. Beni Ferenczy is a real hero
of the fine arts. After a long and serious illness,
paralysed on his right side, he started again with his
left hand and raised his art to high level.
Geza Csorba (born in 1892), is a living and significant
representative of symbolical, expressive idiom. A great
role has been assigned to Zsigmond Kisfaludi Strobl
(born in 1884). well known in England too, and to
Pal Patzay (born in 1894) in the Hungarian art-life.
They both represent excellent. international, academic
value. Pal Patzay obtains the most significant com­
missions for statues destined for public places even
today. It was he who has recently accomplished a
Lenin statue of great size erected in Budapest.
Official appreciation, itself. of elderly masters would
show correct traditionalism if, at the same time. it
didn't mean difficulty for those whose idiom is different.
The least divergence can be seen in Sandor Mikus·
(born in 1903) art. He is a follower of Pal Patzay in the
contented, harmonious mode of expression but with
more popular flavour and larger contracted surface;
his strongest point is small sculpture.
Jena Kerenyi's (born in 1908) sculpture is character­
istic for its powerful dynamism. His art is extremely
suitable for expressing public-spiritedness in
unambiguous ways. He advances step by step towards
more abstract conceptions which coincides with the
changing tendency of general taste.
Y6zsef Somogyi's (born in 1916) style is very near
to Kerenyi's, however it is more static, suspense is
less conducted into the movements of his figures.
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