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

1963-10-01 / 10. szám

FRATERNITY

7

Finta also designed a commemorative medal for the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America. It is probably the best example of his views on the use of allegory in art, for it had to be something more than a portrait: it had to express an ideal. The composition of the medal is a triangle fitted into a circle, signifying the world which has opened to accept the Trinity. Along the edge of the medal is inscribed: “Si Dens Pro Nobis Quis Contra Nos”, the Federation’s motto. Within the triangle is an angel holding the Gospel in one hand and a trumpet in the other, signifying the joyful tidings the Gospel contains. The angel is God’s messenger, in human but strongly idealized form.

A remarkable carved chest now in Mrs. Finta’s possession is adorned with superbly executed low relief scenes from the Bible and from the life of Finta and his wife. The front part of the chest shows Joseph and his brothers; the rear panel is the Last Supper. The cover illustrates the temptation of Adam and Eve, and their expulsion from Paradise. The left side of the chest depicts the life of Alexander Finta; the right side, that of his wife.

The portrayal of Joseph surrounded by his brothers who beg forgiveness inspires a feeling of remorse and humility. The scene is somehow reminiscent of the humiliation of Rodin’s citizens of Calais. The humbly-bent, once-haughty brothers now stand before Joseph as if they had always loved him, had never sold him into slavery. They personify the frailty of human nature, leading man to sell his brother for a dish of lentils and later to bow before him because he is the more powerful.

Finta divided the cover of the chest into one large and two small fields. The right field shows the Annunciation, the center — the Original Sin, the left field — the Redemption.

In the Annunciation scene, the Virgin stands humbly listening before an angel with wings spread