Fügedi Márta: Reprezentáns népcsoportok a 19-20. század fordulójának népművészet-képében (Miskolc, 2001)

SUMMARY

tant point of view for me to lay emphasis on the role of those social strata, of those intellectual movements which had played part in the growing appreciation of folklore and of popular traditions, which raised them on the level of the national cultural heritage. As the image of folklore in the mind of the following generations and so of the present generation was formed in the period that I have examined, this image is a historical heritage and, as a living practice, it is effective nowadays as well. It is continuously shaping the common knowledge and the picture about us. Kalotaszeg, the „matyóság" and Sárköz have also been playing a determinative role in the image of the Hungarian nation up to the present day. The theme of this essay has meant a diverging task demanding a complex research work. After nearly 20 years that I have devoted to the examination of the peculiarities of the „matyó" folk craft, I could extend my examination in order to analyze the parallel phenomenon and happenings relying upon the results and experiences of my research. In the course of my examinations I have relied upon the ethnographic literature of the three regions, mentioned above. The topics and results published previously in the literature have served as a base for orientation for me. Concerning Kalotaszeg, Sárköz and the „matyóság" there was an important scientific result available dealing with the period of the discovery of the local folklore from different points of view. The important results (exhibitions, conferences, publications) of the research projects in the 1980s (those of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Ethnographical Research Institute and of the Museum of Ethnography), which took a new attitude, are worth mentioning. The contemporary press, almost unexplored in this regard, proved to be an essential source-material for my research work. The partial elaboration started in some excellent treatises in the 1980s. Beside the articles of the local press organs, the scientific, cultural and other magazines served as sources as well. I made use of the articles and pictures in them, first of all of those in the Magyar Iparművészet, the Magyar Díszítőművészet, the Tolnai Világlapja, the Új Idők, the Pesti Napló and the Muskátli. Since the theme was extremely complex, it was essential for me to be familiar with examinations of analogous subjects of other sciences, primarily of the history and of the history of fine arts. Last but not least, the visual experiences of the exhibitions dealing with this period, the exhibits and the special catalogues of the Hungarian museums have also inspired and influenced my examinations of relations and importance. The results of the examination according to the aims may be summarized as follows: The discovery of folklore and the process in which it had become a national value was the most complex and the most impressive chapter of the local culture raising into the level of national culture. The motivations of the social interest and attention to the folklore were very complex; political, social and economic aspects, artistic and scientific endeavours as well as the latest fashion were altogether very effective. In the course of the discovering of the folk art, a special sphere of co-operation between the people and the representatives of the upper classes - aristocracy, politicians, intellectuals, artists and scientists - took place. The attention selected the characteristic scenes and objects discovered in the peasant culture. The discovery of the Hungarian folk art has meant that the integration of the discovered values was raised a claim on by the „national" economy and also by the „na-