Gärtner Petra (szerk.): Csók István (1865 - 1961) festészete - Szent István Király Múzeum közleményei. A. sorozat 45. (Székesfehérvár, 2013)
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RESUME 451 Peelers.The first undoubted masterpiece by Csók is the Lord's Supper (cat. 7), focused on the fashionable subject of the unpretentious piety of the rural poor (Dagnan-Bouveret had painted similar scenes with great success in France). Here, for the first time, Csók's psychological characterisation is as masterfully as his technical accomplishment, and he succeeds brilliantly in catching the intimacy and the spirituality of the scene. Csók employs sparse colours and a light palette, but also depicts the characters sensitively, bringing out the sincere emotions and natural dignity of the villagers. The painting is one of the best examples of this genre and it won him an international reputation both in Munich and in Vienna, inspiring several similar works in Hungarian painting. Shortly thereafter, Csók produced a very different work in Munich, entitled Orphans (cat. 8). This was to be recognised not only as the masterpiece of the painter's early years, but also of Hungarian "mood symbolism" generally. Such contemporary symbolist pictures, radiating strong and deep emotions, became emblematic of certain states of the human psyche. Csók refined his previously earthbound and sharply focused naturalism, softened his lines and wrapped the whole scene in a dominant blue aura, thus conveying the feelings of melancholy and sadness appropriate to its title. The picture was widely acclaimed and won a gold medal at the International Exhibition in Vienna in 1894, where it was acquired for the Hungarian State. The last painting belonging stylistically to these early works was At the Employment Agency (cat. 5), which has a remarkably modern urban and social theme. It was an enigmatic and unusual subject with sophisticated characterisation, but it quickly disappeared into a Hungarian private collection and was forgotten for decades. In 1893, Csók abandoned his early colouristic style and embarked on monumental historical painting. He chose a scandalous theme of female perversity at a time when the symbolists had made the démonisation of women a fashionable subject for painting. Although Csók's effort in this genre, a scene featuring the story of an allegedly sadistic sexual pervert, Elisabeth Báthory, was often exhibited nationally and internationally, its theme was already outmoded, and it failed to fulfill his expectations for it. A direct consequence of this failure was that Csók fell into a creative crisis and was thereafter never able to repeat the genuinely modern artistic achievements of his early years. VI. ERZSÉBET KIRÁLY Paganism and redemption Again about István Csók's era in Nagybánya István Csók joined the artists'colony at Nagybánya in 1897 with the intention of establishing Hungarian naturalism.This was a transitional period in Csók's career, and it is therefore difficult to evaluate. Many of his ideas during this time never came to fruition - partially-painted canvasses or projects left uncompleted. Csók, to the delight of the colony, started to work on the composition of "Deliver us from Evil" - also known as the Triumphant Christ. After a long period of suffering - only one figure had been created - he let the theme go by tearing the whole picture into pieces.The picture was only displayed once in public, at the annual exhibition of the Artists'colony at Nagybánya. According to one of his colleagues, there was Christ, painted in a realistic way, on the cross on the left side of the picture and there was the nude figure ofVenus, painted in the"Venice"style, on the other side. In the middle there were people kneeling and worshipping the latter figure. The picture did not receive a warm welcome by contemporary critics. Its conception was considered "vague symbolism"and its content - with a significant shift of emphasis - was summarized as"the new divinity triumphs over the old ones". After more than a hundred years we cannot be certain what Csók's grandiose painting could have depicted. Although the small size draft has survived (Christ and Venus, VI.9) it does not seem to be the same picture. We need to examine the complete iconography which may provide us with a deeper understanding of the painter's intention and legendary dissatisfaction. Our anticipation is that the two moments, namely the intention hidden in iconography and the artistic failure hidden in the intention, are connected. Thus the question arises: Did this great work necessarily provoke its own destiny? Csók could have made a name for himself with this work, which would have meant the appreciation of Paris. Although such a cultural history tableau was foreign to the iconography of Nagybánya and was rare even in Europe, a universal model existed. Max Klinger had the extravagant idea of the simultaneous representation of the classical Greek-Roman religions and the thought of redemption. News of his canvas, Christ on theOlympus (VI.5) became known in the world of art between 1889 and 1897 with wearisome effort, and Csók was able to adore the complete work in 1899 along with thousands of curious visitors. Only a born artist could afford the giant triptych-form and the grand wooden and marbled architect containing sculptural elements.The exceptional physical dimensions had to frame an exceptional idea-conceptual struggle: an artist-prophet vision of the dualism of our age and the human prospects opening in it. The consciously admitted intellectual experience of Max Klinger's art was The World as Will and Representation (1819) by Arthur Schopenhauer, which greatly influenced even this part of Europe from 1850. This book, which simultaneously proclaims the metaphysical, aesthetical and ethical hopelessness of human existence - including European thought, history and beliefs, highlights art, especially music. Art is one of the few earthly shelters, a real deliverance. Even if it is temporary, it provides solace and tranquillity, if it can make us resist the destructive will in this aimless regression.
