Dr. Kubassek János: Cholnoky Jenő természetábrázoló művészete (Érd, 2002)
Dr. János Kubassek: Jenő Cholnoky - a Hungarian geographer and artist - Evaluation of a lifework
He received international recognition as well: he became an honorary member of the Royal Geographical Society and the Geographical Society of Vienna. He counted among his friends not only geographers, but also artists. On the initiative of Cholnoky in 1942, a friend, Károly Antal, undertook to erect a statue of the figure ^Alexander Körösi Csorna, a national hero of the Hungarian people living in eastern Transylvania. Körösi Csorna was the explorer of the culture and history of communities who dwelt amongst the highest mountains in Central Asia. However, the statue, financed by parishes and schools, was not unveiled due to a counter-campaign organised by less gifted artists. Although the work disappeared and was forgotten for decades, it was finally erected in the garden of the Hungarian Geographical Museum to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Körösi Csorna' s birth. EVALUATION OF A LIFESWORK Cholnoky was not a rich man, had no large lands and held no stocks. Although his salary was that of a minister, he often encountered financial difficulties. He was a very productive writer and sometimes he had to fight to meet deadlines. This explains why he had no time to check all his manuscripts before sending them to the press. Cholnoky was an honest, plain-speaking man - as a result, sometimes he seemed to have more enemies than friends. It also happened several times that less talented contemporaries were promoted over his head. Being a Hungarian and one to speak Iiis views in a forthright manner, he was arrested by the Romanians in 1919- His experiences in prison were so painful that he could only wince at the recollection to the end of his life. After World War II Cholnoky gave up all his public offices. The Hungarian Academy ostracised him, which broke him. A number of his former students turned their back on him and served the communist system. He lost his wife during the war in tragic circumstances. The invaluable heritage of Cholnoky was preserved by one of his students, Jolán Vadas. She and the Cholnoky family generously presented this heritage to the Hungarian Geographical Museum. His photographs are now stored in the Department of the Historical Photographs of the Hungarian National Museum. Cholnoky died in 1950. His name was rarely mentioned during the following decades, although the geographers very often referred to his publications, pictures and O 55 o
