Róka Enikő szerk.: Zichy Mihály, a „rajzoló fejedelem” (A Magyar Nemzeti Galéria kiadványai 2007/4)

Az illusztrálás démona és a Démon változó arca • Doré és Zichy GELLER KATALIN

The Demon of Illustration and the Changing Face of the Demon • Doré and Zichy KATALIN GELLER It was Teophile Gautier that first compared the graphics of Mihály Zichy with the works of Doré, Rembrandt, Watteau, Boucher, Goya, including the masters of French romanticism and of late romanticism, such as Chassériau, Delacroix, Dévaria, Gavrini, Ary Schaffer, Octave Tassáért, then English aquarelle painters, or Kaulbach among the Germans. The question is bound to arise as to Gautier was right in juxtaposing Zichy and Doré, including the issue of the equality of their art. Doré was active in the centre of contemporary cultural life, working for renowned publishers and several well-known magazines, and his illustrated books were issued both in England and Germany, whereas Zichy was making most of his drawings in the conservative milieu of the Russian Tsarist Court and for an exclusive cirlce of people. Nevertheless, even the Prince of Wales, who received him as a friend, imposed serious conditions on him, whereby he was just once allowed to exhibit a few pieces of his hunting scenes in Scotland. The publication of the majority of his illustrations was also thwarted in Russia or had taken several years apart from a few exceptions. The roots of their arts, including their graphic style and opportunities, do show great differences. However, it was not by chance that their arts were connected. Both of them worked as successors of the romantic concept of universalism, idealism, reviving the past, as well as being the popularizers of romanticism, the formulators of its popularization with dramatic contrasts, involving good and bad dreams, phantasies and conflicts between Utopia and reality with great dramatic character. Their sets of symbols are also similar, because their works are full of devils and angels taking part in universal historical or in everyday events as well as representing allegorical-symbolical subjects. As grand masters of graphics and illustrations, they both had contributed to the artistic acceptance of drawings and book illustrations. Doré was aiming at the adaptation of the entire world literature and made unique illustrations that were considered as equal with the texts published in series of folio size volumes of very wide circulation. At first Zichy also made illustrations for works by Shakespeare, Byron and Goethe, but very often not more than one picture or a small series only. Although, just like Doré's, his motifs were reliant on the same well-known, and in some respect stereotype set of themes, the climax of his art was achieved through the illustrations of the literature of East and Central Europe as well as of Russian, Georgian, and Hungarian works. The involvement of the Demon, the figures of the devil and angel, including heavenly signs, is a recurring motif for both artists. The Arms of the Demon (The Triumph of the Genius of Destruction, 1878, fig. 39.) by Zichy can be compared with the pictures of Doré entitled Marsaillaise (1870, fig. 57.) and Enigma (1871) with respect to the adaptations of the allegorical themes and their enormous sizes. Contrasting as they may look both artists carried on with the tradition of Liberty Leading the People (1830) by Delacroix, combining allegorical and realistic presentation as well as visualizing a symbol as reality. A common feature of their careers bears the fact that despite being successful graphic designers neither of them were acknowledged as painters in their respective home countries. Their graphic style is also different, because Zichy did keep the closed outlines of the Viennese Biedermeier for a long time and his graphics were becoming more relaxed and artistic at a later stage only. Doré's drawing style is rather varied, because many of his graphics are imbued with extraordinary dynamism, enthralling the viewer with their decorativeness at the sight of the picture.