Vadas József (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 11. (Budapest, 1991)

STURCZ János: Maróti Géza pályaműve a Rockefeller Centerhez

with ,Ages - Our Age, the Child". /Krtf No. 2826 p,c, 113.4 X 21.6 cm/ Aeons is the Greek term for past times. 20. I have used the following handbooks of iconography when analysing the subjects: J.E. Cirlot: A Dictionary of Symbols, London, 1962; P. Diel: Symbolism in Greek Mythology, London, 1980; J.C. Cooper: An Illustrated Encyclopaedia or traditional Symbols, London, 1974; E. Kirschbaum/et al./: Lexikon der Christlichen Ikonographie I-IV. Rom-Freiburg-Basel-Wien, 1974; G. Ferguson: Signs and Symbols in Christian Art, London, 1954; kori lexikon I-IV. (Lexicon of Ancient Times) /ed. by Samu Peez/, Budapest, 19021904. 21. In alchemy, the figure of the crowned child is the symbol of the philosopher's stone; in mystical-heroic legends it is the teacher of wisdom, the solver of riddles - e.g. Oedipus -, the wise man rescuing people from monsters. In Jung's explanation of dreams, the child is the mark of fortunate spiritual changes. According to him, a child always represents the sheltering, conciliatory powers of soul, which is the connection /coniunctio/ between the conscious and the unconscious. 22. A similar connection of the two time dimension is also mentioned in the PR manager's handout, mentioned earlier, /see Note 12/ 23. The antecedent of the putto figure should be looked for in Art Nouveau; they are permanent on Maróti's ouvre of decorative sculpting.(e.g. the Fisher Building in Detroit, Cranbrook School). It was in fact modelled on Ede Teles

's 1903 putto frieze in the Budapest Academy of Music. It was also applied on his pavilion in Milan, as well as in his Zebegény country house. The female figure originates from the Art Deco trend, with a hairstyle of the thirties. It is also present on Maróti's contemporary plans for small sculptures and wood reliefs. Its most interesting characteristic is the geometrical reshaping of the body, which emphasizes and at the same time sublimes the erotic features of the figure. The rest of the picture is dedicated to optimism / like, for example, the marching groups/. Maróti accepted the expectation that the works sponsored by governmental or private companies of the New Deal should radiate optimism towards the American society, which was affected and exhausted by the crisis. 24. The ribbon inscription mentions the names of Gauss, Edison, Faraday, Loeb, Einstein, Eddington, Pasteur, Newton, Galileo, Eötvös and Bohr. 25. The ribbon inscription mentions the names of Ford, Mussolini, Rockefeller, Jeritza, Garbo, Lindbergh, Hoover, MacDonald. 26. The „Musica Infinita" inscription, appearing beside Beethoven, indicates that Maróti is applying the ancient concept of music, which was much broader than the meaning of today; it used to mean spiritual culture, and everything that is theoretical and artistic. /In the broad sense, music was first of all used for philosophy, poetry, and the science of prediction - while the Greek equivalent of real music was „harmony"./ 27. See W. Hofmann: A földi paradicsom (Das Irdische Paradise), Budapest, 1987 p.l43. 28. The coiling batch of rays connects two spiritual heroes of the ancient and the modern age, therefore it repeats the continuity concept indicated by the central group of Aeons and Our Age. 29. Tradition regarded him as a union of a poet, a priest and a magician; moreover, in some of the legends he is described as the son of Apollo. He was generally respected by religion, sometimes handled as a mythical figure, sometimes as a historical person. His name was connected with the establishment of various religious rituals and institutions. 30. The figure of Apollo has always been one of the main resources of artistic portrayal in courts and empires; we will meet him in the iconography of all despots trom the Medicis to Louis XIV or Napoleon. Therefore, it was apposite for Maróti to use this figure when praising his would-be commissioners, the Rockefellers. 31. For this reason it could become the symbol of the everchanging artist. 32. J. W. Goethe: Antik és modern (Antique and modern), Budapest, 1981. p.703. Transi, into Hungarian by Dezső Tandori. A rough translation from the Hungarian by the translator. 33. The stretched hands of „Care" and the „Awakening group", as well as the doves drinking from the well and the deer drinking from the spring, recall early Christian reminiscences. A great number of drawings, modelled on ancient Christian pieces, were found in Maróti's bequest. 34. „Eike a roedeer desirous of the water of the spring, so my soul brims with a desire for you, O Lord." /Psalm 42.2/ (a rough translation) 35. In the Orpheus mythology, the spring is also the symbol of nature grieving over his death. Tears appear on the rocks, swelling up the rivers. /On his death anniversary, the rocks of Rhodope cry for him again and again./ 36. He has calmed the sea with his music /Philostr.imag. 2.15/, consoled the people of Minya over Hercules's departure / Val. Flacc. 4.85/. 37. With his magic song, he lulled the ever-