Mazányi Judit (szerk.): A felfedezett Duna-parti kisváros. A 20. századi magyar művészet Szentendréről nézve - Ferenczy Múzeum kiadványai, C. sorozat: Katalógusok 3. (Szentendre, 2013)
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Judit Mazányi TWENTIETH-CENTURY ART IN SZENTENDRE An Overview The Mediterranean-like town lying on the bank of the Danube and famous for its Orthodox churches has attracted a lot of artists through the harmony of built and natural environment. Several artists of those attached to Szentendre are regarded as the classics of modern Hungarian art from János Kmetty to Béla Czóbel, from Jenő Paizs Goebel to Imre Amos, from Jenő Barcsay through Lajos Vajda to Dezső Korniss. As many as two hundred artists are living here, and being Szentendre artist means rank and responsibility even today -just because of the rich heritage of the predecessors. The first important artist in Szentendre is Károly Terenczy, an excellent master of Hungarian plein air painting, who was living in the town between 1889 and 1892. During this so-called Szentendre period, he created his important early works reflecting the influence of the "fine naturalism" of Jules Bastien-Lepage, a French painter. The other members of Károly Ferenczy's family were artists as well. Their art is displayed in a permanent exhibition in the Museum’s central building. The founders of the Nagybánya Artists' Colony, who were working in the concept of naturalism then plein air and impressionism, also started modern artistic thinking in Hungary. The new ideas of the artists of the colony founded in 1896 as well as those of the free school belonging to it were soon welcome by the public so their attitude saturated Hungarian culture deeply. The young artists, who rejected the conservative ways of seeing dominating at the Academies, regarded the principles forming in Nagybánya (today Baia Mare, Romania) as reliable starting points - besides the intermezzo of Art Nouveau. As a result of the peace treaty of Trianon, Nagybánya (Transylvania) got outside the Hungarian borders. To replace its role, Hungarian art life was busy founding colonies in the 1920s. Tibor Boromisza, who started from Nagybánya, arrived at Szentendre in 1921 with the aim of settling here as well as founding an artist colony. However, he failed. In 1926, eight young artists, Miklós Bánovszky, József Bánáti Sverák, Henrik Heintz, Ernő Jeges, Béla Onódi, Jenő Paizs Goebel, Lajos Pándy and László Rozgonyi settled in Szentendre, with the support of the leaders of the town then, in 1928, they established the Society of Szentendre Painters. Béla Ivänyi Grünwald, a professor of the Academy, who had had an important role at artists' colonies of Nagybánya and Kecskemét, was elected the first chairman. Later, Jenő Barcsay, Andor Kántor and Antal Deli joined the Society. At the beginning they followed the principle of painting after nature, and this remained a long-term conception in the landscapes of the majority of them. However, their careers soon took diverse directions on the effect of study tours to Rome and Paris. Jeges, Heintz, Bánáti, Rozgonyi and Pándy were making compositions in the spirit of Novecento, reflecting the ideas of the Hungarian Academy of Rome. Their works of collective function had a conservative ideological background often with a modernized visual presentation, though. The only mutual work of the Society (Onódi, Heintz, Bánáti, Pándy) was painting the sanctuary of the Saint John the Baptist Roman Catholic parish church of Szentendre (1933-1939). Paizs Goebel and Barcsay created important oeuvres of 20th-century Hungarian art. The group of works of metaphysical inspiration made at the beginning of the 1930s stands out among the creative periods of Paizs Goebel. His scenes happening at places created by the logic of dreams are confessions about the endangered traditional values of European culture. Barcsay, who became a determining personality of the art of Szentendre, interpreted the picture composition of Cézanne in an individual way and going over his inner way consistently adjusted the structure hidden in motifs to an ideal visual order. The society had a free school from 1929 on, and invited guests (Gyula Czimra, Gyula Hincz, János Tornyai, Mária Modok), some of them regularly came back in the summers to work. The colony also attracted artists who had not been invited by the Society. Among them was János Kmetty, who, after a long stay in Nagybánya, regularly came to Szentendre from 1932 then, in 1946, was chosen a member of the Society. His strict early works influenced by Cubism changed into a tone that was more expressive and it was only in his later period that he returned to the ideals of his young age. István Ilosvai Varga also arrived in the town in 1932 for the first time. He joined the Society in 1946. His 120
