Prohászka László: Equestrian Statues - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1997)

the Dual Monarchy, but also one of the most elegant aristocrats of the empire. What made the situation rather ironic was the fact that the count, within less than eighteen years of being hanged “in effigy” (sentenced, that is, to death “in absentia”, with his name nailed to the gallows) became the prime minister of Hungary and then, from 1871, the foreign minister of the Dual Monarchy.

Zala (who had a strong predilection for romantic poses) managed to avoid two theatrical gestures which could have been only too obvious. Andrássy was a retired hussar colonel and, in accordance with the fashion of the day, he would often appear in uniform even as a foreign minister. And yet the artist sculpted the politician in traditional Hungarian costume. It would also have been only too tempting to present Andrássy, renowned for his riding skills, in the saddle of a wild, rearing stallion. But György Zala avoided this banality, too, and modelled a slowly walking horse. And he was perfectly right. An Andrássy clad in hussar uniform, seated on a rampant steed would have been hopelessly conventional. And in any case, parliament intended to commemorate the prime minister and foreign minister, rather than the soldier.

The politician rode a noble thoroughbred (the steed was modelled on a horse called Rigó in the possession of the Andrássy family), keeping a firm hold on the rein. He held his panached hat in his hand, which enabled Zala to produce a true-to-life likeness of the prime minister’s features and his characteristic hairstyle. The composition as a whole emanated serious calm, and yet the fine details of the horse’s tail as well as the rich decorations of the freely hanging section of the horse drapes suggested a certain dynamism.

The pediment, carved into Oravica marble in Eclectic style, was the work of Ernő Foerk. It is interesting to note that the famous architect would design frieze-like, Art- Nouveau ornaments above neo-Baroque reliefs. Surprisingly enough, rather than resulting in a clash of styles, this lent some fine elegance and harmony to the base, which, costing 210,000 korona, was recorded to be the most expensive pediment in town. Another remarkable feature of the monument was a couple of huge reliefs, which Zala designed with the assistance of István Gách. Each of these depicted a memorable event of Andrássy’s political career.

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