Gopcsa Katalin: A Sümegi Művésztelep (1919-1931) és kortárs képzőművészek paletta kiállítása (Veszprém, 2006)

became active in Sümeg in 1925 and 1927-29, can be more or less tracked from the contemporary press. In a 1919 newspaper report, the name of Rita Boem comes up, while a 1920 article mentions Tibor Bakoss from Debrecen, and Miklós Hödringer and Lajos Váradi from Kecskemét. We can also read about the exhibitions of the painters and art teachers Ferenc Fischer and Camillo Römer, both natives of Sümeg, and Gyula Laczkó and Ödön Guzsik, who took regular study trips and exhibited their paintings upon their return. Usually written around the hole for the thumb, palette inscriptions tell stories of their own: "To the memory of Gyula Benczúr" (1924); "Artists visiting Sümeg" (1925); "Sümeg Artists' Colony" (1925); "Csók School of Sümeg" (1929); "Artists aspiring to future fame" (1929). The various pieces in Darnay s palette collection are beautiful tiny mementoes created by the painters who worked there. The attribution of the pictures was at times difficult because of the illegible signatures, and also because no documents of any significance have survived pertaining to the artists' colony. With their depictions of landscapes, nude figures, and genre scenes, palette paintings do not pretend to be more than what they truly are. The figures and landscapes in these pictures are brought to life from the brownish hues of the palette boards. As a rare compositional trait, the branches of trees or bushes arch over from one miniature to another. Certain artists' colonies have played a formative role in the history of Hungarian art by establishing their own schools of painting and thus greatly influencing the attitudes of indi-vidual artists. However, the artists' colony at Sümeg was not one of them. Although Sümeg was called an artists colony, it was not the colony that influenced the painters, it was rather the painters who inspired the intellectual life of the small town that took them in. When it comes to the inevitable assessment, taking into consideration all the implications of the "artists colony of Sümeg" as a phenomenon, we can conclude that many more such temporary colonies would be needed, set up by devoted and unswerving museum directors. The present exhibition is a tribute to the memory of the late museum director Kálmán Darnay and is also intended as an appreciation of the many years of creative activities of the Sümeg artists' colony. As such, it is a rewarding task. At the same time, it is also hoped that the exhibition will contribute to a fuller exploration of the cultural history of the small town by providing documents and captivating, colourful pieces of art to admire. Veszprém, 1998. Katalin Gopcsa Dezső Laczkó Museum