Fraternity-Testvériség, 1963 (40. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1963-09-01 / 9. szám

6

FRATERNITY

ALFONZ LENGYEL:

THE LIFE AND ART

OF

ALEXANDER FINTA

HUN G ARI AN -AMERICAN SCULPTOR

Chapter VI

FINTA’S WORK IN CALIFORNIA

Having completed nearly 50 portraits in New York, Finta moved to California. In 1939, he won general acclaim with his works, “The Eternal Altar” and “The Thinker”, exhibited in the Stendhal Gallery.

The former is a nude group executed in eclectic style. The mother is seated, holding a child on her lap and embracing a second child with her right arm. The perfect reproduction of the human body reveals a thorough knowledge of anatomy. Though the closed composition is reminiscent of Egyptian art, though the proportions and nudity are strongly Hellenic, the group as a whole exudes spirit, as in the art of the Renaissance. The dúld clinging to its mother’s body has also the chubbiness characteristic of Renaissance sculpture. The face of the other child in the mother’s lap reflects complete satisfaction and a sense of security. Joy and pride can be read in the mother’s expression. It is her lap that is “The Eternal Altar.” The knees and thighs are portrayed with such realistic precision that they immediately claim the viewer’s attention. The smoothness of these masses and surfaces carved in wood has the lustre of the finest marble.

“The Thinker” is the portrait of a primitive