A Békés Megyei Múzeumok Közleményei 35. (Békéscsaba, 2012)
Gyarmati Gabriella: Tréfál vagy bírál? Tréfál és bírál? Mazán László karikaturista eddig ismeretlen műve a Munkácsy Múzeumban
Tréfál vagy bírál? Tréfál és bírál? Mázán László karikaturista eddig ismeretlen műve... Joke or criticism? Joke and criticism? A so-far unknown work by László Mázán, the caricaturist, at Munkácsy Museum- Gabriella Gyarmati - Resume Besides József Mokos and Dezső József, László Mázán (Békéscsaba, 1899 - Békéscsaba, 1949), the Békés county art teacher can be kept in evidence as an emblematic figure with a pedagogue’s personality, who had Réti and Rudnay as masters at the Academy of Fine Arts. The main characters of the oeuvre counting a relatively small number of works, are an ironic and grotesque vision and an intention to caricature. Although even nowadays, works by Mázán may pop up, most of his known artistic heritage have found their way to the Munkácsy Museum. A majority of the material is made up by paper-based mixed technology works (watercolor, coloured pencil, ink). In their turn, however, three paintings of relatively big size can be emphasized as curiosities. The texts of satirical tone were, at the time, accompanied in the Borsszem Jankó (Jankó, a Pepper Grain), the Üstökös (The Comet), the Bolond Istók (Istók, the Fool) and the Füstölő (The Incenser), one-time political satirical journals, by graphic illustrations and caricatures of artistic merit, which, being presumably forerunners of today’s mass culture, mostly fall into the category of high art. This world is also László Mazán’s own. “The New Teacher”, a caricature recently acquired by Munkácsy Museum mediates the spirituality and the message of that age. With its light tone and somewhat frivolous nature, this caricature has become a worthy relic of the Mázán collection, further enriching the image on the artist’s oeuvre. Gyarmati Gabriella Békés Megyei Múzeumok Igazgatósága H-5600 Békéscsaba, Gyulai út 1. E-mail: gyarmati. gabriella@gmail. com 241
