Zalatnai Pál - Kovács Zita: Miskolczy Ferenc 1899-1944 - A Bajai Türr István Múzeum kiadványai 33. (Baja, 2014)
the artwork of this period. Beside the theme, the par excellence picturesqueness, the slightly pathetic voice and the delighting artistic have gained the same importance. Colors are often dominant in his solid, almost homogenously structured pictures. Blunt, deep-toned brown, red, rose, lilac, green and blue tinges are consciously constructed, yet they depict the visual elements with seeming eventuality as a simplified rhythmic whole of stains. His last study trip lead to Rome where he spent one year at the Roman Collegium Hungaricum with the scholarship, supported by the town of Baja in 1929. The scholarship didn't bind him to Rome: he visited Italy from Palermo to Naples, from Florence to Milan. There he didn't study "Roman school" tendencies, but European wallpainting techniques, fresco and secco painting. During the period of his Roman studies he got acquainted with Pátzay Pál and Aba Novák Vilmos who became his close friends later on. His work, Madonna - painted in Rome - won the Budapest Székesfőváros Award in 1930. The ultimate conclusions of his Roman studies are preserved in his sacred panel pictures and frescos of two churches: the Szent Szív parish church of Baja-Kiscsávoly and the Catholic Church of Karód. His European studies and the search for his artistic path closed in 1930. In the 1930's the more and more polarizing artistic and political public made the basically leftist minded artists of KUT - led by Rózsa Miklós until 1931 - to take distinct steps. The artists of the well-organized Roman school appropriated the status of "modern" arts in the official artistic public. With the secession of Rózsa Miklós - it must be added that culture politics didn't look with favor on his relation with the legitimist group - Miskolczy didn't even get the chance for a group exhibition. For the request of the parents he looked for a job in Baja. However, it wasn't possible to make a living by painting in a small town in Bácska overtaken by the economic world crisis during the 1930's. The pressure of earning his bread stopped his artistic verve. From 1935 he created his existence as an arts teacher and physics teacher later on. He prepared coppe engravings, plaster-plates, graphic cards for occasional fairs (Easter, Christmas) in order to supplement his incomings by selling them. In line with this, he worked on different areas of public and cultural activities in Baja - without payment: 1932-37 he was the leader of the carpet weaving manufactory for poverty workers; 1936-37 he was the founder of the Art Gallery in Baja; 1937-1984 he was the supervisor in the Türr István Museum. Aside from the period of ignorance and everyday hardships, the spirit of the artist was looking for the path of artistic development. Though Miskolczy was immensely submissive, he was unable to give up his own ambitions and therefore he always ran into artistic dead ends after World War II. Finally, the artist spirit chose expedience, subservience, and the creating 52
