Czére Andrea szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 105. (Budapest, 2006)

ANNUAL REPORT - A 2006. ÉV - GÁBOR ÉBLI: An Erudite Cosmopolitan

The book does not dare form any far-reaching conclusions but we can add to it: Térey's daring projects and professional aspects inevitably ran counter to the cultural-political situation defined by economic, public and individual interests. Although he was forced to withdraw on several painful occasions, on the whole, his achievements were extraordinary. He proved to be more realistic and more attentive to the possibilities of the institution than Károly Pulszky, but at the same time, he did not fall behind Elek Petrovics, either, who had also been forced to make several compromises. As a background to the story, the book skilfully draws upon the relevant connections of the Hungarian art collections and the international art market of the period, and offers explicitly useful illustrations and a proportionate and understandable apparatus of footnotes instead of the excessively elaborate ones so frequently used in Hungary. The text is stylistically demanding but concludes with a personal-toned epilogue. Without a doubt the sale of this book should not be limited to the museum bookshop as it deserves wider distribution. With some revision and an even more international emphasis, it would also be marketable in English and could serve as a model to be followed for the universal contextualization of the past and present research work around other outstanding personalities of the period (Pál Majovszky, Lajos Ernst, Marcell Nemes, Adolf Kohner). Gábor Ebli