Lóska Lajos szerk.: Művészettörténeti tanulmányok Pest megyéből (Studia Comitatensia 20. Szentendre, 1990)

Szentendre képzőművészete 1945–1985 - Kiss Joakim Margit: A művészeti közeg változásai, a művészet rétegződése Szentendrén a hetvenes–nyolcvanas években

Artists questioned the naturalist-Realist approach to nature preferring Czóbel's intellectualism in dominating the sight, Barcsay's authentic humanity and modernity and Korniss' artistic autonomy. They took the task of transposing their negative experiences — like the crisis of the ideas governing society, the lack of agreement between the artist and his/her audience, the impossibility of collective art — into an aesthetic level. Kondor responded with narratives that are parables in fact. His figures are romantically mutilated, miserably grotesque creatures, pictorial warnings and prophecies. He accepted the intellectual and artistic traditions of Szentendre though he had to apply 3 times before he was admitted into the new colony. THE STRATIFICATION OF THE STYLISTIC HERITAGE, TRADITIONAL AND INNOVATIVE TENDENCIES The followers of Post-Impressionism in early Szentendre art had a special Constructivist character suggested by the landscape itself but chosen also as a way of resistence against the (politically) controlled ideal of art. Barcsay's pictures also have this type of tectonic Constructivism which structures the elements of the picture by geometrical motifs of symbolical connotations. Czóbel's pantheism has a still life character regardless to the fact whether they are portraits, landscapes, intérieurs or still lives in fact. His inspiration comes from a kind of mystical union with nature. Pál Miháltz has an expressive Post-Impressionist approach which can be observed in his Biblical and stage scenes as well as his mutilated trees, withering sunflowers, figures painted from the back, black gateways and open fences which are, in fach, self-portraits. There are three Post-Impressionists who were inclined to use Constructivism as a means of structuring and simplification which suggest eternity. Motifs are often arranged in parallel lines with the horizontal and vertical dimensions of the picture. The static affect is further accentuated by a strong light and shadow contrast (Qöllner, Kántor). The third one, llosvai Varga, has a kind of Expressionist Constructivism with colours protruding beyond the contours as symbols of the wish top break free in order to reach the desired ideal. Barcsay's Constructivism is far more complex being a dynamic style based on a stratigraphy of traditions — his abstractions are gradually departing from the actual sight becoming more and more crystallized and analytical; his female figures recall the dignity and humanity of the figures of Piero della Francesca in an age of latent alienation. A basic character of his art is his awareness of the situation of Mid-Eastern Europe involving a moral interpretation of the role of art. The Constructivism of his monumental compositions — mosaics and textiles — is recalled in the monumental textiles of newcomers like László Hajdú, Endre Lukoviczky, Ildikó Bálint, Károly Klimó, József Bartl and Piroska Szántó and in the ceramics of Teréz Urban and László Borsódy. Korniss' Constructivism is completely different in becoming a meditational structure, the composition being based on the emphatic motif accentuated in a dynamic set of forms. His motifs are immaterial trying to retain the ideal complex totality of the Universe. This kind of Constructivism has an international character. His last works are marked by a resignated vision of transcendence suggesting that meaningful order is rather a Utopia. His vision of art as the reorganization of immanent forms as well as his open-mindedness made his style a way to follow, more so than that of Barcsay. Surrealism in Szentendre stems from the vision of Vajda in the mid-30s when Surrealism tried to establish a new tradition by utilizing folkloric motifs and the individual and personal image of the ego as it appeared in the oeuvre of the members of the "European School" built upon the anguish, the memories and visions of the subconscious. Korniss' Surrealistic compositions tried to respond to the problems of our national identity by the use of flag and felt coat motifs. Margit Anna produced meditations on her physical and intellectual state by suggesting the tragedy of the Holocaust through grotesque dolls and puppets. Endre Bálint's instrument is montage which he assembles from fragments of the Szentendre townscape, sacral motifs and visions of the subconscious thus contructing a magic individual mythology. Piroska Szántó uses stylized natural motifs in an emblematic and decorative way. Her cultural historical meditations are composed in a Surrealistic manner suggesting transience inspired by her familiarity with literature. The chief virtue of Szentendre Surrealism was its liberating effect in form, free associations that could represent even the most individual experiences. János Pirk's Expressionism — his farmers and agricultural scenes — are more closely related to the Nagybánya than to immediate Szentendre traditions. Szentendre art involved a functional diversity and the same can be told about the genres among which we find intimate panel paintings (Ilosvay, Czóbel), large murals made at commissions (Barcsay), and works produced rather for the art historian (Korniss and his fellow Surrealists). 80