Gosztonyi Ferenc - Király Erzsébet - Szücs György szerk.: A Magyar Nemzeti Galéria Évkönyve 2002-2004. 24/9 (MNG Budapest, 2005)

STUDIES - Shinji Tanaka: On Bertalan Székely's Japanese Woman, 1871

MTAKK Ms.939/1. fol.41/v. Figure of woman with floral pattern. The composition is similar to that of Ukiyo 48 kuse 2 hen ('Habit 2' from the series 'The geisha's 48 habits') by Keisai Eisen, or to that in Honcho keshiki bijin sue, Yoshino-yama no kei ('Japanese landscape with a beauty, view of Mount Yoshino-yama') (1825-1830) by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861).

57 In the original composition it is snowing, but not here. Notation: 'Das schneien. Schwarzer fond — kreutz und quer mit gelb und grünen weiss blättern '. MTAKK Ms.939/1. fol.

42. In the upper part of the sketch a female figure reaches out towards the branch in blossom, and a chequered pattern. Underneath another woman is pulling at the border of her cloak. The latter bears some resemblance to Teijo ('Virtuous woman'), a sketch in Hokusai's Ehon hayabiki ('The Quick Pictorial Dictionary') (1819). Notation: 'die erste frühlings blüthe am bäum, licht gelbgrün fond - blaugrün - violett '. MTAKK Ms.939/1. fol.42/v. Female figure holding a candle. MTAKK Ms.939/1. fol.43. A stand. MTAKK Ms.5005/225. fol.65. Early Chinese woman or ancient goddess (?). In most of his copies, Székely depicted women, omitting the other (male) characters he found uninteresting. He paid attention to the colours and patterns of clothing worn by women. Unlike the French impressionists, Székely did not seem to be particularly interested in the perspectives and viewpoints peculiar to Japanese art, its exaggerated facial gestures, etc. In most cases, the focus of his attention was on women. A copy of vol. 8 of the Hokusai Manga is in the library of the Academy of Fine Arts.

58 The book was purchased before 1900 from M. Bauer & Co., art dealers in Berlin and Leipzig. It may be a copy of the reprint edition from the mid-nineteenth century. Vols. 6 and 7 can be found in the library of the Ferenc Hopp Museum of Eastern Asiatic Arts.

59 Székely's copies of Japanese art are preserved at the Graphic Department of the Hungarian National Gallery.

60 Now, returning to other notes made by Székely on the theme of Japan: MTAKK Ms.5006/11. fol.71/v. 'Zeichnungen gesehen der gewöhnlichen japanischen schulen -fruchte - obst - Stilleben — aber reizend naiv — nur bei großer Verbreitung des Zeichnens ist ihre industrielle geschicktheit - Vielseitigkeit erklärlich '. MTAKK Ms.5006/11. fol.l37/v. 'Ethnographisches museum Mittwoch und Samstag — Japanisches'. This sketchbook dates from 1878. In 1877 Székely set out on a tour of Paris, London and the Netherlands. In Paris he visited the World's Fair, where he saw Japanese drawings. He also visited the Ethnographisches Museum in Munich, where he could see Japanese artefacts. At that time the bequest of P. F. Siebold had already been purchased on behalf of the museum in Munich. It is not unlikely that he saw Japanese