Goda Gertrud: Izsó Miklós, 1831-1875 (Miskolc, 1993)

cepted by the young artist as a great honour, especially because of the person of Széchenyi. After his death in 1860 with the approval of Gasser, Izsó carved in marble his portrait (1860) which is since that time a treasure of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The young Hungarian student, learning in Vienna have founded a „Penny Group" with the purpose to help the sculpture art in their country. The modest foundation soon reached its aim; Izsó was matriculated in 1859 for Munich Academy of Fine Arts to the course of Max Wittmann. In his studies he went on quickly, beneath he worked on the conception of his own works. The hellenistic Art Collection of the Glypthotec had an important influence, the idea to adapt the dimensions in the space of one figure. Torturated of home-sickness and poverty, exhausted he returned home in 1861. He made sketches in the Great Plain from shepherds, in Pest he made the first model for his main work the „Sorrowful Shepherd" (cat. 12.). But his friends suggested him to go back to Munich despite of his poverty. With folkloric dresses and accessories taken from home he was able to model hungarian romantic figures (cat. 11.), later he was scarving from Carrara marble his most famous work „The Sorrowful Shepherd" (cat. 12.) 1862. This work realized in his content and shape the romantic-national ideal of this age. The very elegant and contrapostic position remembers the classic funeral monuments, it expresses the mourning for the nations liberty giving it a romantic note. When he leaves Munich in 1862 his conceptions are established. All his imaginations for statues are in his mind. He has sketches for „Spinning-house scene" (cat. 144.), „Dying soldier" (cat. 87.), „Dancing peasants" (cat. 39-53.). - At Pest he lived in very modest circumstances and modeled portraits of his comtemporaries: the poet János Arany, the later Perpetual Secretary of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 1862 (cat. 14-15.), from the actor Gábor Egressy, one of the guerilla leaders, 1862 (cat. 16.). The first monument for a public place was that of the linguist Miklós Révai (cat. 25.), it is placed on thefrontic piece of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He took part in 1866 at the contest for a memorial statueof count I. Széchenyi (cat. 73-75), but he withdraw it to protest against the compromise between Hungary and Austria in 1867. In 1866-67 he worked as first in Hungary, on the statue of the poet Mihály Csokonai Vitéz from Debrecen. In the sketch for this statue he created the type of the Hungarian poet with responsibility (cat. 77). The statue inaugurated in 1871 is the only bronze masterpiece of Izsó. He made a series of sketches for this statue, to be settled in the Capital, from Sándor Petőfi poet of the revolution. The most beautiful piece is of the poet calling the people tojóin the insurrection „Rise Hungarians" (cat. 98). Later his invencious energy fainted. You can see this statue at Budapest on the place of 15th March-but the contemporary statue was finished by Adolf Huszár after the ideas of Izsó. It is even today a meeting-place for the youth. Petőfi's (1823-1849) character was always a model for Hungarian youth. Izsó had seen him as student in Sárospatak but, what is more important he had known great many of his poems. The portrait of the poet Petőfi became therefore as expressive (cat. 95) though that one carved in marble in 1874 does not reflect the greatness of his personality. Izsó had in mind the formation of a national memorial for the heroes died for their country. „The wounded standard-bearer" (1869) cat. 86, „Dying Petőfi" 1861-69 (cat. 88) Those tiny terracottas show his ability for the monumentality - it was shown in more of his works „Sketch for the statue of Árpád" 1862-72 (cat. 94).