Tanulmányok Budapest Múltjából 27. (1998)

PICTURES OF THE LAST CORONATION IN HUNGARY - Katalin Földi Dózsa: HISTORY OF THE EXHIBITED PICTURES

After-life of the coronation as a sight After closing the ceremony the crowd flocked into the church to acquire some souvenirs, trying to take to pieces, to remove whatever they could. It was just owing to Lechner's immediate measures that the throne-drapery of King Matthias remaind, safe and sound. The most beautiful coronation dresses—both of men's and women's

—including those of the royal family, were exhibited at the Hungarian National Museum in 1917. The periodical "Magyar Iparművészet", 1917, issues 1-3. published several detailed reports about the decoration of the coronation ceremony and the objects of applied arts related to the coronation and six paintings about the decoration of the processional route. The captions stated the names of the designers, however according to column "Krónika" the architectural parts of the pictures were painted by György LESZKOVSZKY while the figures were drawn by Jenő HARANGHY using offhand sketches, he made on the spot.

32 Further on, it published two interiors of the church, stating none but Lechner's name. All of the compositions, view-points and architecture of each picture are the same as those of the ones belonging to the Budapest Historical Museum. However, most of the figures in the background or other secondary details are different. Róbert K. KERTÉSZ has recorded the progress of the works in a book in 1917 presenting additionally to various photos, Lechner's first sketch about the altar as well as 13 paintings which latter are completely identical to those in our possession. The Municipality purchased the 15 distemper-paintings from the designers in 1917 for 400 Kr each, entrusting the Museum of the Capital with carrying them. Contemporary records describe them as artistically coloured photos. On one of them are two signos: Lechner and Unghváry. The latter might be Sándor UNGHVÁRY painter (January 15th, 1883 KaposvárJanuary 31st, 1951 Budapest) who cooperated in the coronation decoration and presumably painted the background figures. His signo can be found additionally on two works, representing Móric POGÁNY's design of the monument of the Holy Trinity (cat. 35, 47). There are no signos on the remaining ones. Consequently one must accept that either the designer artists made them themselves, or the painter's names were considered as unimportant. Why were similar pictures made by different painters? That is the question. May be that who he prepared the list of cartoons was right, they really were artistically coloured photos indeed but not in the sense it is understood today. Examining the pictures carefully you can discover the original photos. The enlarged photographs were thoroughly painted over and partly completed with background figures. Presumably, the photos used by HARANGHY and LESZKOVSZKY were the same, that is why their paintings are also identical. It is worth mentioning that a number of photos of the coronation are similar to these photos but neither of them is identical. It is presumable that the photographes were made for this special purpose, all the more so as generally they are taken from the worm's-eye-view, whereby the architectural elements appear more monumental as they really were. At the same time, according to brush-work and colour-choice the works are well distinguishable. Unghváry's works are more precise but less colourful, the backgrounds of Lechner are a bit more glazed, the pieces attributed to Kós are well coloured but a bit too dry, while the most open-handed and colourful are the ones designed, and presumably painted, by Dénes Györgyi. Perhaps the background figures at one of the decoration designed by Kós are painted 11