Zwickl András szerk.: Árkádia tájain, Szőnyi István és köre 1918–1928. (A Magyar Nemzeti Galéria kiadványai 2001/3)

TANULMÁNYOK - FERENC ZSÁKOVICS: "The Young Hungarian Etchers" - The Renewal of Graphical Art after the First World War

the works of the major artists of the etching generation. He continued to keep an eye on their artistic development and during the 1 930s he gave much attention to the "art of the young Hungarian etchers" in his extensive studies about the past and the present of Hungarian graphical art, published in Erdélyi Helikon and Magyar Művészet.

4/ The Hungarian Etching Society was founded between the two world wars, during the winter of 1 92 1, in the Hungarian Etching Workshop, which was set up at the same time. They set up their headquarters and held their meetings here, in a familiar atmosphere, along with occasional technical presentations for the graphics loving audience.

48 Viktor Olgyai, the professor of the Academy of Fine Arts' Graphics Department, was elected president, with Gyula Conrad acting as secretary. In addition to the older generation of founders, János Kmetty, István Szőnyi, Gyula Derkovits, Vilmos Aba-Novák and Gyula Komjáti Wanyerka took part in the Society's first, introductory exhibition held at the Ernst Museum in 1923. The young artists who had just graduated from the Academy's Graphics Department and had by then had considerable success at smaller exhibitions took part in the Society's exhibitions in growing numbers on Olgyai's recommendation. In recognition of their artistic achievement they were one by one admitted to the Society's membership and by the mid-1 920s they formed the backbone of the Society's exhibiting artists. "Amidst admirable modesty and silence, the Hungarian Etching Society has logged up so many positive results in the foreign acknowledgement of its members and Hungarian art as very few of our art societies," Máriusz Rabinovszky wrote in his critique.

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'' The catalogues give a long and representative list of exhibitions and international graphical shows all over the world, in which the Society's members took part with their compositions. They scored their first success in 1924 in Zurich, at the exhibition Ungarische Graphik und Volkskunst held in the Wolfsberg Gallen/. The foreign press gave a vivid coverage of the event, with the critics especially hailing the works of Vilmos Aba-Novák, Gyula Komjáti Wanyerka, Jenő Tarjáni Simkovics and Nándor Lajos Varga, a group of young artists starting out in their career after war, along with the compositions of István Szőnyi, who was closely related to the group. "The essential tone of the exhibition is set by the dynamic, firmly implanted young generation, a generation that ardently watches Western-European art, learns much from it, and turns to use the lessons with great fervour in probing the problems of art, yet never copies but creates independently. (...) This is a young and powerful art, keeping well away from all forms of eccentricity and frolicking. The most profound feelings are displayed with utmost serenity. This young generation acquired its artistic skills at home, at the Academy of Fine Arts. Today they are the pride of their country and the hope of the world of culture."

50 In the second half of the 1 920s the Society tried to boost the reputation of Hungarian graphics with the help of numerous exhibitions abroad.

51 In the course of 1925 and 1926 these exhibitions travelled to more than ten big cities in the United States, starting from Cleveland, then in 1 927 moving to Stockholm and Tokyo, bringing substantial financial rewards in addition to the moral victory.

44 The Society exhibited its works, in the company of artworks by artists from 2 1 nations, at the international graphics show held in 1927 in Florence, probably the most prestigious event of its kind. According to the opinion of a contemporary critic "with regarding to artists and technical values, Hungarian etching has occupied a place among those European countries where tradition was the deepest and richest, and thanks to its originality and lavish of invention took one of the top ranks even there."

53 The New Acquisitions Exhibition held in the British Museum in 1929 was seen as a special occasion. It amounted to something of an official recognition of the successes of the Hungarian Etching Society when, in addition to the works of the older generation, the Hungarian State donated to the prestigious British institute the compositions of the etching generation - AbaNovák, F. Antal, Barcsay, Csóka, Istókovits, Komjáti Wanyerka, Patkó, Tarjáni Simkovics and Varga.'

4, The works of the young graphical artists won numerous prizes and special mentions at the major exhibitions abroad (Florence 1927, Barcelona 1929, Monza 1930). The most important of them all, however, was the prize awarded by a Hungarian art society, the Pál Szinyei Merse Society, called Mihály Zichy Prize after 1926. The Society's aim was to lend support to the revival of Hungarian graphics, and the prize was awarded once a year, after reviewing the material of exhibitions for that year. "The number of our graphical artists significantly grew after the recent emergence of young talents, whose activities in a way conjure up the hopeful scene of spring blossoming; on the other hand, we have encountered many signs suggesting that the noble genre of graphics will be met with greater understanding among the public. Therefore, the Pál Szinyei Merse Society's efforts to encourage, directly and indirectly, the young and talented artists to devote loving care to graphics were not wasted," we read it in the reasoning of the 1925 Graphical Award.

54 Beginning with 1923, Olgyai's students won the profession's acclaim; Nándor Lajos Varga was awarded twice (1923, 1924), followed by Vilmos Aba-Novák (1925), Gyula Komjáti Wanyerka (1926)