Savaria - A Vas Megyei Múzeumok értesítője 26. (2001) (Szombathely, 2002)

Balogh Lajos–Víg Károly: Vízkeleti Vargha Andor növényábrázolásai (1924–1926) a szombathelyi Savaria múzeumban

BALOGH LAJOS - VÍG KÁROLY: Vizkeleti Vargha Andor növényábrázolásai (1924-1926) VIZKELETI VARGHA A. és GÁYER GY. (1924-25): Vasvármegye jellemző növényei. Vizkeleti Vargha Andor rajzai [Gáyer Gyula szöveges magyarázataival]. -Kézirat, Savaria Múzeum, Szombathely, 30 lev. 30 tt. WAGNER, D. (1828-1829): Pharmaceutisch-medicinische Botanik oder Beschreibung und Abbildung aller in der к. k. österreichischen Pharmacopoee vom Jahre 1820 vorkommenden Arzneipflanzen ... I-II. - F. Ulrich, Wien, nagy folio, VIII, 431, 2 1., 249 tt. WAGNER J. (1903): Magyarország virágos növényei. - Királyi Magyar Természettudományi Társulat, Budapest, 241 pp., 67 tt. color WAGNER J. (1908): Magyarország gyomnövényei. -Am. kir. Földművelésügyi miniszter kiadványa, Budapest, 384 pp. + XII tt. color WALDSTEIN, F. Á. et KlTAIBEL, P. (1802-1812): Descriptiones et icônes plantarum rariorum Hungáriáé. - Viennae, Typis Matthiae Andreae Schmidt, Volumina I-III, folio, 280 tt. WlNTERL, J. J. (1788): Index horti botanici universitatis Hungaricae quae Pestini est. - Pesth, 161 (137) pp. PLANT ILLUSTRATIONS (1924-1926) BY ANDOR VIZKELETI VARGHA IN THE SAVARIA MUSEUM, SZOMBATHELY The paper reports on a body of still unpublished plant illustrations practically unknown to the professional public or met with only in references. The illustrations made by Andor Vizkeleti Vargha between 1924 and 1926, under the direction of Gyula Gáyer, head of the natural history collection at Vas County Museum, are scientifically accurate representations and works of artistic beauty. They joined the natural history collection of the day, and with one exception, remain with the Savaria Museum Natural History Department, apart from some that have gone astray. The paper recounts the biographical details and presents the works of Vargha, and also outlines the brief history of botanical illustration in Hungary. Andor Vargha was born on April 16, 1872 in Görbő-Belecska (now Belecska), Tolna County. He completed secondary school in Veszprém and worked for periods as a clerk in a court of justice and an engineering draughtsman, but was never an entirely reliable, employable person. In his final years, he eked out a living from the drawings made for the natural history collection at Vas County Museum. He died in March 1927. Vargha'

s surviving plant illustrations use various techniques. Almost half are coloured wash drawings and the other half black and white. They display exceptional three-dimensional qualities and masterly use of colour or light and shade. Many of the wash drawings recall a technique of depiction found in copper engravings of the period. The way they are built up out of fine 39