Prohászka László: Equestrian Statues - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1997)

of the best-known paintings of Csontváry, Lonely Cedar. The apostle-like figure can also be familiar from a Csont- váry-painting, Praying Saviour, and the strange, grotesque horse is also prefigured by a similar figure in the painting called Storm on the Great Hortobágy.

Attila Bobály’s work, made possible by the sponsorship of the Hungarian Research and Development Institute of the Hydrocarbon Industry, is a daring blend of various symbols used in a number of works by Csontváry. Undoubtedly, it is one of the most exciting monuments in Budapest, a deeply disturbing work with its toned-down expressivity. The use of the two ancient columns - besides providing a frame for this bronze piece, whose uniqueness is similar to the individuality of Csontváry’s own work - is an unobtrusive allusion to the profusion of finds dating back to Roman times and unearthed in the neighbourhood.

Equestrian statues in Budapest. The artistic standards that they represent often raise them high above the other public monuments around them. They stand guard in calm dignity, by now having almost completely blended into the city-scape. Their history has become one with that of the country itself.

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