Tanulmányok Budapest Múltjából 27. (1998)

PICTURES OF THE LAST CORONATION IN HUNGARY - Katalin Földi Dózsa: HISTORY OF THE EXHIBITED PICTURES

Who was count Miklós BÁNFFY de Losoncz? How had a Transylvanian count the power to disregard the Committee of illustrious members and, dominating his own will, to select almost arbitrarily the cooperators for designing the decoration of coronation? According to the Hungarian Great Lexicon Miklós BANFFY was born December 29th, 1873 in Kolozsvár where he also deceased on June 6th, 1950. Politician and writer. From 1901 to 1918 Member of Parliament, from 1906 to 1910 Lord Lieutenant of both Kolozsvár and Kolozs county, from 1912 to 1917 intendant of the Hungarian Royal Opera House and the National Theatre and, under the pseudonym Miklós KISBÁN, a famous playwright. But it would be a grave mistake to think that BÁNFFY was just one of the theatre and art fan aristocrates. Endre ILLÉS said: Bánffy was a "large-scale dilettante".

5 Illés compaired him to Proust and Lampedusa so he possibly held Bánffy the dramatist and author of a novel-trilogy as dilettante in a good sense of the word. It is very important how Illés analyzes Bánffy's activity as an intendant: ... "over these years the Opera House is not only a theatre for music but the first one in Pest for dramatic performances. Each premiere, especially the Mozart Cycle is quite an event. Later Bánffy managed to fight out the performance of the Bartók's works intended for the stage (The Carved Prince and The Bluebeard) against the authority and opposition of the Opera House." This latter was yet to come through, as both of compositions were performed after the coronation. Endre ILLÉS omits to mention that there is a field where the "politician-writer" can not be deemed a dilettante at all and that is fine art, even more, one of its special branch, the stage-design. During the 1913-1914 season Bánffy, with assistance of HEVESI and Jenő KÉMÉNDY had created some epochmarking works. His stage- and costume-designs can be compaired mainly to those of the contemporary designer of the Russian Ballett, Leon Bakst, but while Bakst became world-famous Bánffy gave up designing for the stage, justifying even in this way Endre Illés' statement concerning he was a "large scale dilettante." In the year of the coronation, in 1916, Bánffy still is the intendant of the Opera House. The compositions with his stage-design are still on. So there was a reason for his insisting on being charged with the entire direction of the decoration works. There was also another strong reason argued in his favour—the lack of time. The coronation date was fixed at December 30th, 1916. The decoration had to be completed before this date to enable a rehearsal previously. The sole person was count Miklós Bánffy, familiar with stage-design, who choosing the staff suitable for this activity, could meet the requirements to carry out the expected work. The artist designers Who were the four young artists invited by Bánffy? Quotation from Károly Kós' Memories: "The last quarter of year 1916 was the strangest period of my life when I was the poorest man but the greatest lord at the same time... I was not the happy owner of my everyday clothes and underwear, only a humble and thankful lessee of them. My brother-in-law had lent them to me. At the same time, in the very middle of the war, an imposing and excellent grey car registered by the army, with a military man as driver was at my disposal in 50%. On every sounding of the horn policemen sprang to attention and saluted me."

8 Kós was a bit modest, but as for his poverty he was not exaggerating. In autumn 1916 5