Arrabona - Múzeumi közlemények 31-33. (Győr, 1994)

Gráfik Imre: A dunai hajóvontatás ikonográfiája

The iconography of Danubian shipping During research into the Hungarian internal shipping ethnography of human or animal towing or hauling, the writer has paid special attention to an iconographical-iconological approach to the topic. The author is convinced that the pictorial information explored is more than suitable to illustrate the topic historically. The different delineations - within limits - provide the opportunity to document and visualise the activity against its rich historical-ethnographical background. Thus, this interpretation of the descriptive data has proved a valuable source of information. The contemporary illustrations (etchings, graphics, paintings, etc.) and those which are objectively accurate are considered as documentary proof. They are called iconical data. The author is primarily studying the history of the Hungarian part of the Danube but is also interested in data from other European river stretches as a comparison. The visual and exciting scenes - towing by animals or humans - stir the imagination, and according to the present state of research, most of them date from the 19th century. The earliest of them is a picture from the 18th century showing a boat being towed by horse. This study surveys 25 contemporary pictures from the Hungarian section of the Danube, but also directs one's attention to some historicultural facts. The study could also be expanded if we consider that there is a wealth of material about boat-towing on the Danube beyond the borders of Hungary. If we extend our iconographie research to European river and canal boat transportation by human or animal means, it can be said that from Roman times through the Middle ages until the New Age, various contemporary documents have aided the iconographical exploration of the topic, the iconological analysis of the national culture and lastly the education of the area. Imre Grafik 287