Verhovayak Lapja, 1937. július-december (20. évfolyam, 27-53. szám)
1937-07-29 / 31. szám
Wir M. PAGE 7 : VerhovayJournal— THE HUNGARIAN VILLAGE AND ITS ART The gay flower gardens of villages cannot flourish b r the efforts of their owners alone, nature also has a word in their development and in the limitation of their possibilities. The co-operation of man with nature produces and develops the village in accordance with the natural possibilities and the economic circumstances, habits and traditions inherent in the people. The peculiar effect of these combined creative factors can nowhere in Europe be studied more closely or in greater variety than on the comparatively small territory of former Hungary, bounded by the Carpathian mountains, where the great Plain is encircled by gently rolling hills leading up to the mountain zone and then to the pine-grown snow-capped peaks of Alpine character. On this territory of such exceptional variety, a wreath, of mixed nationalities had been bound by history around the central Magyar population. In this enclosed great melting pot of people, the most interestnig and most instructive is perhaps the Magyar group. Beginning our observations in the center of the Magyar population on the Great Hungarian Plain, our eye is caught by the peculiar mud-buildings of this treeless landscape, reminding us of the arid countries of the Eastern Continent. Houses are built of sun-dried bricks with beautifully arched po'rches, all whitewashed. The walls of the rooms are also snowwhite, whitewashed at least twice a year, with a large open fireplace over a square hard-baked clay foundation in the hall. The inner room is heated by a huge stove of bee-hive shape, two or three metres high, divided into parts by ridges and opening into the hall, whence it is heated, in the absence of wood, by straw. The lowest ridge round the stove at the level of a chair, is broad and in winter the people sit here to warm themselves. Also the roof is provided by the surround ing fields, consisting, as it does, of thatch which in its contruction reflects the love of neatness acquired during a thousand years of practice. The fine, carved oaken doors still existing in former marsh-oak districts are evidence of the wood-carving industry of a great past. At the Eastern and Northern corners of the Plain the art of wood-carving seen in wooden fences, eaves, gable ends, etc. becomes even more important. In certain districts of the Transdanubian counties another extreme is noticed: stone, here, there and everywhere. Houses, fences, neat vineyard cellars, stables, stalls and barns are all built of stone with vaults reminiscent of the characteristic Román arches of the Middle Ages, the front of the building being decorated with plaster reliefs. Here straw is not used as fitel and the stoves are built of concave green, brown or red tiles joined by. projecting edges, but these stoves are heated from outside the room. The Transdanubian counties are the home of the, in olden times so famous, so-called “Smoke-halls” containing open fire-place. To prevent tins smoke issuing from them from entering the other rooms each room has a separate door to the courtyard. The black walls of the smoky kitchen are decorated by means of stars cut from potato slices form white patches on the smoky walls. There we see also facades of Baroque style, especially in the counties of Győr and Sopron. The counties of Somogy, Zala and Baranya are districts where in former times wooden buildings were the rule, and remnants of them are preserved in the ornamentally carved and painted wooden facades. In the county of Zala we find a great number of wooden belfries. North of the Great Plains, the home of the '‘Palóc” Magyars, wooden buildings were general, as also in the entire lower Car pathian region. Their com plicated smoke-retaining stoves formed a special type, yet they we-e to some extent . similar to the huge stoves also used as sleeping places in the Northern Slav districts. The most beautiful edifices of the lower Carpathian region are found in Transylvania, particularly in the Székely districts. The Székelys were great masters of wooden construction, and excelled in the building of wooden belfries, bridges and churches which, how ever, like so many other re mains of the former cultural assets of the Hungarians, can now only be seen in Rumanian villages. These were built in the Gothic style and were ornamented with fine towers and turrets. This art of construction could only have been acquired by these people in Transly vania. The Transylvania wooden church is a special type of European church construction. Just as the style and lines of allstone buildings and fences in the villages along the Northern shore of the beautiful Lake Balaton, the Hungarian sea, are of a surprisingly local character, so is a distinct local style and char-YOUNG GIRL OF MEZŐKÖVESD It is said, the costume (hand made) is the most picturesque in the world. acter expressed also in the nearly four metres high, tastefully carved and, recently painted, Székely gates in the wooden fences sur rounding the wooden houses, wonders of Hungarian timber construction, in which the traditional ornamentation is mixed with West European elements of style. The oldest specimens are from the year 1670. No less varied is the internal equipment of the houses. Their most conspicuous characteristic is their gayness of color. An inexhaustible variety of flowers is painted on a foun dation, the color of which differs according to the district. The most frequent foundation colors are: white brown aitd especially green and blue. The flower, as almost in every style of Hungarian ornamentation, is depicted in bunches or bushes. The chief ornament of the house from the view point of its mistress is the madeup bed, laden with pillows and other bedding up to the ceiling. The pillows and sheets with their wonderfully rich patterns beautifully embroidered — especially in former times are prominent proofs of the Hungarians’ love of skill in the handicrafts of embroidery and of their inventive ability in this art. Along the furniture of-the Hungarian peasant houses, their treasured embroideries and the various products of the weaving, looms, there is j another branch of national I peasant art of no less impor. tance, namely the peasant ceramic industry. Specimens j are seen here and there on i the walls, sometimes in whole series, mainly in Tran* slyvania, in as many charac* , acteristic varieties as there are dialects .and ethical groups in Hungary. These ceramic products, mostly plates and dishes, are in respect of hhape and ornamentation and the discreet mixing of colors, not in the least behind the Hungarian art of embroidery. Just as in embroidery, beyond one or two favorite animals, stag or bird, there is nothing but flower designs wherever we look. There seems to be a definite aversion to any natural cenception or the individual depicting of the object, as if the artist deliberately wished to preserve the artificial style of the nomad peoples of the the individual, retaining the optimistic point of view expressed in their preference for colors and invented forms. The same impression is made by the small plastic art of the Hungarian shepherds, a solitary art .n Europe, produced, of course, not in metal or stone, but in wood. Matrixes (moulds) carved in wood, were the foundation also of the small plastic art during the migration of peoples, which explains the tracery found on the early products of metallurgy. Perhaps this ancient traditional technical skill ac counts for the still existing wood-carvig talent of the Hungarians. Walking sticks, salt-cellars, shuttles, spinning wheels, bowls, cups, whip-handles, headboards, (of graves) gates, doors, tools, .yokes and hundreds of other objects are all evidence thereof. We assume that the traditions of the shepherds explain the great technical development and skill displayed in the ornamentation of leather and horn work, also a solitary art in Europe. We have not yet mention ed the beauty of the national costumes worn by the in habitants of the Hungarian villages on holidays, in church, at weddings or on other exceptional occasions, although their every day wear does not differ much from the clothes worn by the average European. Especially the women’s clothing shows a gaily colored splendor of great variety, particularly as regards the outer garments. In this they differ from the surrounding Slovaks, who show a similar variety and magnificense in their underwear. Designs, colors, woven, embroidered and openwork linen, cloth and leather garments are shown in the villages on certain occasions in a magnificence and variety unparallelled anywher else on a similarly small territory. We wish particulari}' to emphasize two original Hungarian craftmen vis: the Hungarian furrier and the tailor of Hungarian peasants’ coats, who, in view of their great skill in cutting and sewing outer garments and over* coats worn by the country people, and the artistic embroidery and varied stiches of the national design with which such garments are trimmed, deserve a prominent place in Hungarian national art. They are past masters of the Hungarian plane-decoration, the inventors, heirs and designers of the most original, pure Hungarian decorative art. They are the exponents of the Hungarian art of ornamentation whose works have attracted and irresistibly conquered also the neighboring people of other races. The homogenitv of the population of the Hungarian villages with their indigenous art, is one of the most original, individual and versatile among the European peoples. In decorative art, in music and dancing, an encouragement of individual initiative and skill, of modifications according to .he mood of the moment, of simplification and emblishment, is offered to an extent that exists among hardly any other European people. This, in addition to the beauty and fertility of the country explains, the unequalled variety, of the manifestations of Hungarian art. In this variety, however, the attentive observer will quickly detect a basic unity and harmony, even as he will find a unity behind the various dialects of the Hungarian language. The same spirit reigns over Hungarian music and dancing, irrespective of the degree and measure of variation from the original themes . . . Károly Visky AMERICAN ART SCHOOL HELD IN EGER t The ‘’International School of.Art” is holding another summer session in Eger, Hungry, from July 12 to August 25, this year. The course, planned for teachers artists and students, will offer instruction in oil, water color, pastel and etching. Pekary, one of Hungary’s most popular artists, noted for his delineations of Magyar peasant life, will conduct a three-week course in etching. Those interested in more detailed information are requested to write to Helen B. MacMillan, Corresponding Secretary, The Internationa.! School of Art, 4 East 28th Street, New York Citv. Just Distantly “And so you say yer name is Riley? Are you, I wonder, any relation to my friend, Tim Riley, the bookmaker?” “Very distantly,” replied the 4>thei. “Oi was me mother’s first child. Tim was her twelfth.” — (Exchange)
