Gyergyádesz László, ifj.: Kecskemét és a magyar zsidó képzőművészet a 20. század első felében (Kecskemét, 2014)

Jegyzetek

Grünwald originally addressed to Elek Kada dated on the 17th July 1909. The contacts at the coffee houses were instrumental in creating the art colony, but besides the above mentioned one the regular table of artists of the Japán coffee house could play a part, too since Kada could have met Iványi, Elek Falus, Lipót Hermann and Tibor Pólya there (he had known Lechner for a longer time). These connection could bring about the fact that Nemes, who was also a regular member of the artists’ table of the Japán coffee house (that was a kind of free school of modern art), made his donation to Kecskemét (according to Hermann, Falus persuaded him).

The place indicated for the colony was the so called Műkert about three kilometres far from the city centre. Jánszky and Szivessy planned the ensemble of buildings in the south-eastern outskirts of Kecskemét in 1910-12. The architecture of six studio cottages, the painting school illuminated with three huge windows on one side (not seen today) and the large common block of studios naturally reflected the endeavours of the “Young generation” discussed above. Here is a typical contemporary response to the architectural sight: “No doubt, the group of cottages would be hailed by a resident of a London suburb as familiar; but startling. However, the impression is strange rather than familiar or cosy. In such a town that is linked to the international traffic by its apricot trade yet the tempo, customs, soul and songs of its agrarian people are tied to thick-blooded ancestors. On a land where the magic of Lehel’s horn is still heard in its atmosphere: it seems that in the evening the wind blows the sound of the legendary horn from the flat distance.”

The primary importance and (in a sense) the leading role of architecture is proven by the fact that the first commissions of the artists of the colony were in connection with the buildings - some already mentioned above - of the architects Jánszky-Szivessy. Concerning the decorative elements of the second Catholic lodging-house only the sandstone statues (the patron of the town, Saint Nicholas and saints from the Árpád- House) on the fagade made by Zsigmond Kisfalud! Strobl can currently be seen near the chapel of the Blessed Virgin at the arboretum garden of Kecskemét on the outskirts of the town. However, only a small, black and white photo taken in 1911 gives evidence of the mural painting of the gable (the allegories of the theological virtues, Faith, Hope and Charity of Iványi and two angels carrying the emblem of the Catholic Church by Géza Bornemisza). Regarding the artists’ colony

of Kecskemét probably their highest performance and real Gesamtkunstwerk most parallel with the ideas of the Secessionism was the building of the City Casino. Kisfaludi Strobl made the plastic ornaments of the crowning cornice. Iványi Grünwald decorated the exterior (a perished allegorical composition in the triple gable) as well as the interior (a panneau titled Banquet placed above the fireplace in the ceremonial room). The main decorator of the interior was Elek Falus, he designed the ornamentation of the ceremonial hall together with the coloured glass windows, the fireplace and the decorative painting. “The staircase from the left leads to the ceremonial room. It is a rectangular hall closed by an arched ceiling. The way Elek Falus decorated this hall is engaging. [...] The vaulting is held by three camber pairs of columns and due to the design of Falus the ornaments are dominating on them. These garlands of roses are so beautiful as they are being trained on the columns and vaulting, and the glowing tone of their red and blue colours almost enlightens the hall.” We can observe the same stylized secessionist flower elements on the sgraffito of the elementary (farm) school in the Mátyás Square as on the works of the Municipal Carpet Weaving Institution of Kecskemét. “The designer of these carpets is Elek Falus. He is called an applied artist but it would be more appropriate to call him an artist of materials. Few people devote so much disciplined attention to the secrets of various techniques or can penetrate the secrets of new materials. Furthermore, he has inexhaustible ideas as a decorator; he can infinitely vary his flowers with gusto. The major asset of the Kecskemét carpets is that they are not timidly refined but powerful, rich with well-balanced contrasts. Without useless - and impossible - imitation, their finest pieces achieve the colourful glow of the best oriental carpets.” Falus was one of the founders of the colony, and in the programme of Iványi Grünwald he is the leader of the section of applied arts. The colony did not want to be exclusively a settlement of painting but it intended to support artistic crafts and applied artists similarly to Gödöllő. Falus was a universally talented man who was a graphic and applied artist, a stage designer and the exterior and interior decorator of several public buildings. Nevertheless, he became widely known for his book cover designs during his period in Kecskemét, but he acquired his fundamental knowledge in Munich and London. At that time, he created the famous title letter of the newspaper “Az Est" and then mainly from 1909/1910 the front-page of the set of Nyugat books (e.g. Zsig52