Horváth János: A Rippl-Rónai Ödön gyűjtemény, 2002

book... I painted several landscapes. As for today I have painted for a change István Molnár the old shepherd with moustache. Me is from an Old World. He looks as a nice ripe peach with some masculine features. If somebody is willing to buy from my pictures, please take him to Olgyai... I work a lot; I have to make use of the winter, especially the snowy motives. There will be again a series of pictures from Somodor. There are very nice tones here..." The artist hoped to collect rich landscape motives is 5omogyaszaló while his attention was directed to interiors. The pictures "Lazarine in frontof the mirror", "The old signalman and the cock", "Ödön in pneumonia" (or otherwise "Ödön in fever") - this pictures let us enter the art collector, Ödön's home. On the painting "A station master in Aszaló" the walls behind the elbowing Ödön are full of paintings. The first press covering about his collector and his treasure was in 1906. After 1903 he was promoted a Stationmaster and sent to Fiume. Three years later an article was published in the local paper "Seaside" reading: "The picture collection owned by Ödön Rónai, brother of the outstanding impressionist painter, at 44 Germania street could rightly be called an art gallery." It was pointed out in the writing "Rippl-Rónai in Fiume" that the collection on the wall only consisted of more than 50-60 pieces, half of it is Rippl-Rónai paintings and graphics; the other half is "more than thirty other paintings from Hungarian and foreign artists". Fiume's surrounding proved to be a more advantageous area for art collecting. Ödön wandered around with naive enthusiasm from monastery attics to flea markets passionately trusting his luck. He had some great findings but he had some failures as well as for his hunting method, until he reached a systematic way of collecting, following the contemporary artists' shows and attending their exhibitions in Budapest. He often thought that his luck would make him rich. According to the detailed lot he did not preserved all of his pieces. He liked the compositional drafts of traditional painters. He considered their composed grandiosity to be forerunners of modern concepts. The essence of his collection was his brother's pictures and contemporary Hungarian paintings. If he needed money he could sell some old pieces. József supervised the developing of the collection from beginning to end. That is what makes it so special. Visiting his brother he painted a series of local pictures everywhere, such as in Fiume. As a forerunner of decorative style he made his portrait in Fiume titled "My brother, Ödön" depicting him in white suit and hat. Originally it was called "Ödön in The sun "which could be interpreted as" Ödön, the successful art collector and patron of art, respected by the public". The profile on the picture expresses ambition and will. This outstanding portrait depicts is brother in his new social status as an européer art collector. The picture is subtitled with the artist' handwriting: Recollecting the hot summer in 1906, to my brother, Ödön from Jóska. "This picture became the emblem of the present museum exhibition of the collection. Ödön Rónai-Rónai resigned from the rail service in 1911. he decided to spend all his time with art. He had been thinking of it for years. It was easy for him to quit public service providing him material security - for the state of an entrepreneur. He may have been involved occasionally in art trade; he may have had some old paintings, selling of which could have provided him with enough money. He bought his brother house / on mortgage/ in Fő street/ for ten thousand crowns/. The main scenery of his intérieur period. The house had become empty because the artist moved into the villa in Róma hill. The art collector moved his old pictures to Kaposvár and tried to be integrated in the town artand public life. He kept an art table in the Turul Hotel .If József Rippl-Rónai came to town for a stroll, he came in there with his brother. Sometimes he had some funny sketches on napkins and bills. While talking Ödön collected them and saved them for us. The art table was the meeting point for the citizens of Kaposvár discussing art. Aurél Bernáth, who preserved wonderful literary memory of uncle Ödön, recollected that teasing and fun melted in conversations on up-to-date issues of fine art." Uncle Ödön had his splendid talent to disseminate his ideas on his way somewhere or sitting on the market. But while the most important thing for 5ocrates was arousing doubt and so seeking the right way, for him it was the case of modern art and disseminating more liberated principles. Kaposvár and the whole world then was for the small but secure" as a life ideal together with indifference and reservation. Uncle Ödön first of all struggled against this attitude with his informality, serenity and openness. Being a common man his example showed how you can be above your class but at the same time one from the nation, homeland and Europe." He was in charge of organising a contemporary Hungarian exhibition. he organised the exhibition of "The fourteens" of leading Hungarian painters in the County Hall inl91Z. He borrowed pictures from Csók, Ferenczy, Fényes, Qlatz, Iványi-Qrünwald, Katona, Kernstock, Kosztolányi-Kann, Magyar-Mannheimer, Perlmutter, RipplRónai, Szinyei-Merse and Vaszary during his personal visits. This exhibition means a cultural landmark in Kaposvár life. This show means actually founding of 50