Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 23. (Budapest, 2004)

Györgyi FAJCSÁK: Bertalan Hatvány, an unknown Connoisseur of Oriental Art

Zoltán Felvinczi Takács organised an exhibition titled The Art of Greater Asia. In the exhibition catalogue

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, Felvinczi Takács argued that the truest reflection of the spirit of East Asia is to be found in Buddhist art-objects. In his stated view, the common language of Asia is the language of Buddhism. Using this concept, he compared the art of East and West, demonstrating the ancient cosmic symbolisms and their evolution. In his book, Hatvány aimed at a broader comparative description of Asian cultures; but not from the viewpoint of the art-historian. Amongst his sources were reference books in Western languages on Oriental subjects, on history, and art history; including works by Oswald Siren, Albert von LeCoq, William Cohn, A. Getty, Laurence Binyon, Robert Lockhart Hobson, La Roche, Marcel Granet, Kühnel, Götz, J. J. M. De Groot, and Josef Strzygowsky.

27 In his review of the book, Attila József made a very pertinent observation on the author and his work, as follows: "Hatvány is fleeing from his own European and class identity, into the spirit of Asia. His tragedy is, that what he seeks there is itself in the process of disappearing..." On the book itself, the reviewer concluded: "For those who have an interest in the contemporary and historical cultures of Asia this book is invaluable, since it brings together materials which are otherwise accessible only with considerable effort in scattered sources, and in foreign languages."

28 Hatvány received scholarly recognition for the book in the form of the award of a Philosophy Doctorate from the Elisabeth University of Pécs. In the 1930s he published two more works: From Confucius to Nehemiah

29 in 1936, and The History of the China Question™ in 1938. Beside his interest in oriental cultures and arts, Bertalan Hatvány also played an active role in the literary life of the 1930s. In 1934 he got to know the poet Attila József; they were subsequently on friendly terms, and Hatvány acted as the poet's patron. József dedicated his poem Költőnk és kora [The poet and his times] to him.

31 It was in the apartment of Hatvany's cousin Lajos Hatvány (located in central Buda, in Bécsikapu tér) that the literary journal Szép Szó was founded in 1935; Bertalan Hatvány was among the journal's founders. From 1936 to 1939 he was one of its sponsors, and he also assisted in the editing (the official editors were Attila József, Pál Ignotus, and Zoltán Gáspár). In his editorial capacity he became acquainted with Tibor Horváth (1910-1972),

32 who after the Second World War, from 1948 to his death, was the Director of the Ferenc Hopp Museum. Hatvány recounted in his autobiography: "By autumn 1938 I came to feel that there was no possibility for me to remain in my home country. I could not endure the humiliation of being a 'second-class citizen'. But I was able to arrange my affairs so that I could at last realise my plans to travel abroad to India, Indochina, and Indonesia. However the fruits of my nine months travel - my notes and ciné-film recordings - all perished during the War."

33 And indeed from this, his second journey in the Orient, no record survives except for his extended correspondence with Zoltán Felvinczi Takács, the then Director of the Ferenc Hopp Museum

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. Hatvány probably departed in autumn 1938. His first letter is dated December of that year; and the last one, 9

th August 1939. His route is told by the places from where the letters were sent: Bombay - Ceylon (he toured all of southern India) - Bombay - Delhi Srinagar - Agra - Darjeeling - Calcutta Rangoon - Mandalay - Pagan - Bangkok Ayutthaya - Angkor - Singapore - France. He then settled in Paris;

33 this was at the end of the summer of 1939. On the outbreak of the Second World War he joined the French Foreign Legion;

36 he was captured by the Germans, but escaped and returned to France. In 1943 he was able to escape to Switzerland, with the assistance of a courier - later to become his second wife

37 - who was working for the French Resistance. In 1947 he visited Hungary, but found that there was no place there for him. He lived in Paris as an emigre - with Hungarian citizenship - to the day of his death in 1980.

38 After the War he worked for the émigré Hungarian journal Látóhatár (published in Munich); this journal published his translation