Murádin Jenő: Thorma János 1848-as képei - Thorma János Múzeum könyvei 2. (Kiskunhalas, 1998)
The 1848 Paintings of János Thorma
The 1848 Paintings of János Thorma On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence a permanent exhibition of historical paintings of 1848 has been opened in the Great Plain town of Kiskunhalas. The two huge works of the locally-born artist János Thorma (1870-1937) - 'Arad Blood Witnesses' and 'Rise Up, Magyar! (March 15th)' - are exhibited alongside a full-length portrait of Hungarian patriot Lajos Kossuth, painted at the town's special request. These professionally-restored works have found their place in the Kiskunhalas museum thanks to generous donations from the town council, from community and business institutions, and from private individuals. The exceptional size of the two compositions (both are larger than 22 m2) presented a challenge in both the restoration of the pictures and in their positioning within the '1848' gallery. Put together the perfect artistic harmony of the paintings shows the artist's comprehensive expression of the triumphant and tragic moments of the Hungarian's fight for freedom. In the year after Thorma's death, the critic Sándor Jeszenszky noted that the two pictures should remain together as, side by side, they gave the impression of the "resounding" of a song to national loyalty " after the sound of a funeral march". János Thorma (one of the founders of the Nagybánya artists' colony), firstly painted ' Arad Blood Witnesses' (between 1893 and 1896) and later commenced 'Rise Up, Magyar!', the second version of which he worked upon from 1903 until his old age. Thorma's paintings experiencend the changing fates of 20th century history. They were once taken out of the country for their protection and the wear and tear of the years spoiled their conditions ('Arad Blood Witnesses' was damaged by being for a long time kept rolled-up), however, now they are fit for exhibition once more, in the museum bearing the name of their creator, János Thorma. The two-year restoration of the paintings was performed by Károly Petheő of Budapest and László Vigh of Szentes. It was completed in 1998. 53
