Tóth Vilmos: Funeral Art - Our Budapest (Budapest, 2006)

Kerepesi út Cemetery at the Turn of the 20th Century

priate place: on the tomb of Miklós Izsó (K 34/1). It is a poor gesture of compensation for a major sculptor whose works are not to be found in the-ceme- teries of Budapest. Although it represents Izsó's features with the faithfulness of a portrait, Lajos György Mátrai's work can be given a broader, allegoric interpretation, too, as the robust central figure appears, with chisel and hammer in hand, in an attitude suggesting Michelangelo's Moses. The Huszár and the Izsó monuments indicate the two main thematic concerns characterising Budapest's funeral sculpture on the threshold of its greatest period - the symbolic representation of death and the portraiture of the decedent as a living person.

The life-work of Gyula Donáth, the first Hungarian sculptor with funereal art as his main sphere of activity, was certainly dominated by the former theme. On his finely-wrought, central allegoric figures, he combined traditional motifs with his own, unique symbolism. As a result, the faithful representation of the decedent was marginalised, in which respect Donáth's style was still reminiscent of an earlier period. This is well exemplified by Károly Csemegi's funeral monument unveiled in 1902 (K 28), where the sword-bearing figure of Justice rises above a portrait recalling the herms of classical antiquity. Donáth made a herm for the tomb of Jenő Péterfy, too (K 28); here it is the figure of Pallas Athena that was placed upon a column with the decedent’s portrait being put on the goddess's shield in place of the usual Gorgon head — a sculptural gesture that might be interpreted as ironic by the visitor of modern times. The apex of Donáth’s career coincided with the emplacement of the tombs of honour around the Deák Mausoleum: five of his works were put here. Besides the Péterfy and the Csemegi tombs, these were the sepulchres of Baron Béla Lipthay (K 28) and István Teleszky (K 28) as well as the Kamermayer Monument unveiled in 1901. It was on the last of the five that relative proportions were reversed: the bust was given pre-eminent position, receiving more emphasis than the full-length statue of the Muse Clio. Other remarkable works of Donáth’s include the monument of Mrs. Vendel Petényi from 1898 (K wall), and the two lions of the Moscowitz tomb in Salgótarjáni utca, which are the first figurái representations in any Jewish burial site in Budapest. His creations are autonomous works of art in every respect, which is underscored by the appearance of titles (Melancholy Song, In Memóriám, There Uied to Be...), a novelty testifying to the rising of the genre in public esteem.

Next to Donáth, it was Alajos Stróbl who made the most important tombstone sculptures of the period. Funeral monuments meant but one of many genres where this universally-talented master attained very high degrees of

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