Folia Historica 30. (Budapest, 2015)

II. KÖZLEMÉNYEK - Apor Eszter: A Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum Hangszertárának egy érdekessége: Ember figura hangszerekből. Műelemzés

Az általunk vizsgált festményt egyedül a Gesamtkunstwerk gondolat révén kapcsolhatjuk a zeneszerzőhöz. Wagner köztudottan képviselője volt e szellemi irányzatnak, s egy zene által inspirált, a színházművészet és a képzőművészet határmezsgyéjén született műben valóban az „összművészeti" alkotás létrehozásának szándékát fedezhetjük fel.

A RARITY FROM THE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT COLLECTION OF THE HUNGARIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM:

A HUMAN FIGURE BUILT FROM MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

ANALYSIS

Summary

The Human figure built from musical instruments is one of the most interesting rarities in the Musical Instrument Collection of the Hungarian National Museum.

Unfortunately we do not know the name of the artist. The artwork was a gift in relation with the farrtily Schunda. According to a handwritten inscription on the back side of the picture, the painting is related to Richard Wagner's activity in Bayreuth, and it metions the date of July 1877, as well. It is possible, that the inscription is not authentic from the viewpoint of the painting's preparation date. (Actually Klára Radnóti is searching for the provenience.) The picture has not high quality and unfortunately it is in a bad condition.

Otherway, the painting shows an interesting iconographic type which denotes the problematic of relation between the music and the Beaux-arts.

In the first moment, we associate to the art of the Italian late renessaince court painter, Giuseppe Arcimboldo. The so-called „ Arcimboldo-effect" is working in our mind. After that, we can find the origin of this type of image in the 18th century French and German graphic art, specially on the sheets of costume pictures which represent different human activities. We found a satiric representation of Manneken-pis from the end of the 18lh century. This is the most important analogue of the figure built from instruments. Because of this unique parallel we think, the Human figure built from musical instruments was painted in the end of the 18th century.

In the essay, we write about strong influences which were important from the point of view of the Hungarian National Museum's painting and its analogues. (For example the triumphal event and tournament pictures, the commedia dell'arte, the images of scenes and actors, the costume images, the satiric engravings and caricatures.)

Finally we mention the philosophy of Gesamtkunstwerk, which is actually the only one real contact between Richard Wagner and the conception of the analysed painting.

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