A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve: Studia Historiae Literarum et Artium, 1. (Szeged, 1997)

Dömötör János: Egy szobor története (Kallós Ede: Erkel)

Saroltádnak víg akkordja hangzik, Dózsa György emléke ki nem alszik, Hogy bár tested földnek röge fedi: Örökké élsz, nem halhatsz meg soha, Névtelen hősök láng apostola! Míg milliók ajkáról száll a dal, „Zene király" emléke ki nem hal!... Pihenj csendesen a sír ölében, Emléked él milliók szívében. Dombi Lajos The History of a Sculpture Ede Kallós: Erkel János Dömötör On September 21, 1893, at the initiative of abbot and vicar Benedek Göndöcs, the General Assembly of Békés County decided that a sculpture be erected to commemorate Ferenc Erkel, the founder of Hungarian opera and the composer of the Hungarian anthem. Ferenc Erkel was born on November 7, 1810, in Gyula, which, at that time, was the chief town of the county. In 1888, however, the composer's home town failed to attend the celebrations commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the composer as a performing conductor, therefore, the decision regarding the erection of the sculpture made not long after Erkel's death (on June 15, 1893) may as well be considered as a redemption of a debt. In order to provide for the necessary resources, collection of money was started country-wide. The result, however, was not very impressive: out of the 63 counties ofthat time only 16 sent donations. In addition, part of the donations were miserable contributions (amounting to 1.25 and 2.60 forints). The unlucky timing of the initiative interfered with another nation-wide collection for financing a sculpture of Kossuth. The major part of the necessary sum (4,800 forints) was donated by Békés County and the town of Gyula. The National Society of Fine Arts proposed Ede Kallós (born in Hódmezővásárhely, in 1866 and died in Budapest, in 1950), a young and highly gifted artist with expertise gained in H. Chapu's studio in Paris, to create the sculpture. In line with customary procedure of the era, a sculpture committee was appointed to accomplish the task. They found the design prepared by Ede Kallós acceptable, and after casting in bronze a Beshoner's, the bust sized 5/4 was inaugurated on the small square near the county hall on June 26, 1896, as part of the millennial ceremony. According to the established procedure, th sculptor placed the monumental but fairly conforming portrait (made of 3.5 m lime) on a high elevation. In addition, the sculptor engraved in the elevation the first notes of the National Anthem to make reference to the most well-known masterpiece of the composer. The unveiling of the sculpture was a significant event in public life. Two poets (Sándor Somló and Lajos Dombi) had written poems to commemorate the event. The poems were published in the local paper. Not long after the ceremony, however, critical remarks appeared in print. The topic of objection was the size of the bust and the face on the elevation symbolizing theatrical art. Nevertheless, the people of Gyula accepted the sculpture, and the town also indemnified its great son for the failure on the anniversary in other ways (by naming a square and institutions after him). 127