Csornay Boldizsár - Dobos Zsuzsa - Varga Ágota - Zakariás János szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 97. (Budapest, 2002)

NÉMETH, ISTVÁN: A Generous Gift or a Healthy Compromise? Some Contributions to the Background of the Donation of a Painting by El Greco

devoted to Hungarian art in Kecskemét,'

9 made endowments of 500,000 crowns in the last winter, and so on. That he is a talented and smart businessman who has risen from the ranks and earned a lot, as well - that is something he should not be blamed for. Meanwhile, he has never got unmindful of the public interest; he is not only a businessman but a fanatic and generous patron of arts, as well; and when looking at those who hunt only after their business interests, we can do nothing but wishing we had several Marcell Nemes '. And we can expect even more from him in the future. Not only because he claims and promises that (after all, it is only a matter of trust whether to give credence to naked words), but because there are positive circumstances and psychic reasons argue in favour of that. Nemes is 55 years old, having no family, extremely ambitious, seeking status and longing for his name being immortalized; and, moreover, he has the ability and ambition to make far-reaching resolutions - doesn't it seem likely that his he would keep his promise that the bulk of what he has got hold of and what he is to get hold of in the future will finally descend to the Hungarian state?

20 I am convinced that it would be iniquitious for the past and rash for the future if such a resolution would be made that could discourage this man. Lest we forget the György Rath case.

21 Finally, let me throw light upon the financial aspect of my decision. When I received Mr Nemes ' magnificent gift, my first and spontaneous intent was to propose the granting of the export licence fully exempt from duty under the terms of Article 11 of the decree no. 274/1920 of the Ministry of Finance;

22 however, later we had come to an understanding that I would provide a fair and moderate valuation regarding his works of art. In this respect, the situation is the following: the donated painting by Greco had 19 This monumental donation of Marcell Nemes in 1911 constituted the basis of the present Kecskeméti Képtár (Gallery of the City of Kecskemét). For this, see Sümegi, Gy., Nemes Marcell, a műgyűjtő. Adalékok a magyar műgyűjtés századclcji történetéhez, Cumania. Acta Museorum ex Comitatu Bács-Kiskun, Kecskemét 1975, 275-300. 20 -The subsequent events proved that Petrovics was right. The collector made another unexpected and remarkable donation in 1925 when he had succeeded in obtaining the portrait of Prince Ferenc Rákóczi II by Ádám Mányoki from Dresden, which is venerated as a national relic. (Today it is preserved in the Hungarian National Gallery.) Nemes did not forget the Museum of Fine Arts when preparing his last will, either: he bequeathed 16 pictures to our institution. See Petrovics, E., In Memóriám Nemes Marcell, Magyar Művészet (1930)560-561. 21 As it is widely known, the famed collection of György Rath went into the possession of the state by way of his widow and has become one of the public collections of the Capital City in 1906, under the name of Ráth György Múzeum. Nevertheless, what Petrovics presumably alluded to was the scandalous event when, a few years before his death. Ráth transported the eleven most valuable paintings he owned (including two by Rembrandt) to abroad and sold them through Colnaghi, so depriving the country of these irreplacable masterpieces forever. For this, see the article: Térey, G., Eladott Rembrandtok. Ráth György ügye, Műcsarnok III (1900) no. 4, January 21, 43^14. The decree that Petrovics made a reference to in this place set forth the various options for reducing or terminating the export duty. These include the case when "...the reduction or termination of the export duty is justified by the public interest." For the complete text of the decree, see: Magyarországi Rendeletek Tára 1920/11, p. 1154.