Horváth János: Kunffy Lajos - A somogytúri Kunffy Emlékmúzeum katalógusa (Kaposvár, 2005)

Their objections included the belief that Kunffy „overpaints" his canvasses out of enthusism for too much detail, yet absolved from this criticism The Reverend of Somogytur (1905) and The Child's funeral (1907). During his many travels Kunffy painted sketches on small pieces of board. In Paris their artistic achievements were praised in the highest. The well-grasped motifs were generously expressed and the lightness of the colors met with the approval of French taste. For the purpose of painting large canvasses, Kunffy built an atelier in the garden of Somogytur in 1909. He himself designed the spacious, half-Hungarian, half-Greek style building, which included a colonnade and a tympanum. He returned permanently to Hungary in order to attend to the cultivation of his estates and to provide for his son's upbringing in the Hungarian manner. Prior to his homecoming he arranged a large exhibition in the Georges Petit Gallery in 1913. Typically, the cover of the catalogue, which listed 144 paintings, shows a picture of a Gypsy The catalogue was introduced by the outstanding French art critic Leopold Honore with the following words: „A certain confluence of taste and emotion, many memories, for long have brought France and Hungary close to each other, and this rapprochement, born of mutual sympathies, has given the magnetism of a tradition to artists. Munkácsy and many others have cultivated this tradition, and therefore, Lajos Kunffy could not ignore it either. Under the influence of French ambiance and spirit, which so generously pours forth from our own artists, Lajos Kunffy also did not hesitate to move to pads for a more thorough acquaintance with it and to continue, then conclude, his edication under the influence of Benjamin Constant and Paul Laurens. Ever since then, for fifteen years, he has been exhibiting his art in the Société des Beaux-Arts and what the young Hungarian master offers for the judgment of Parisian art experts is the fruit of his prolific work: A beautiful and vibrantly diversified exhibition, in which there is nothing banal, nothing superficial and which has arrived exactly in its own proper time. The boulevards of Paris, may they be ever so attractive, did not divert Kunffy from his personal art." In the feverish whirl of Parisian life, he retained his calm, that melancholy character which is typical of the Hungarian nature, and most of all, he never lost sight of his homeland. After all, this is the decisive attraction of his interesting artistic manifestation, the validation of his surprising artistic personality resulting in an enduring artistic quest, which never ceases to deepen and grow. Through all of this the artist remains an alert and sympathetic observer, whether painting with enthusiasm and honesty his landscapes or depicting his picturesque and typical Gypsies. „Without attempting to follow his works with superficial commentary, it is wise to restrict ourselves to the observation that influences on the various stages of Lajos Kunffy's career are many, whether they be from travels or from the beautiful shores of Lake Balaton, wherever they originated, in all of them a deep emotion seeps through in which there quivers something of the Hungarian soul. " The newspapers reported favorably about this exhibit. Kunffy became a well-known figure of the parisian artistic life. He became a friend of outstanding artists such as Aman jean, Dagnan bouveret, 68