William Penn Life, 2002 (37. évfolyam, 1-11. szám)

2002-04-01 / 4. szám

fölött Szinyei Merse Pál, a festő....

És megint letette az ecsetet. Ezúttal ismét tiz esztendőre. Belső lélekrengés döntötte romba művészi világát. Hitehagyottá vált. így a művészet óceánjának téveteg vándora, aki nemcsak látott, hanem hallotta is á szirének énekét, megült a maga szigetének uralkodói székében, jernvel birtokán. Ebből a székből állította felöt egy Jernyére érkező fiatal festő Zemplényi Tivadar, s ébresztette rá arr(a, hogy ö is piktor. Kimosta hát újra ecseteit, s leporolta palettáját. És elindult a természet, a közvetlen látvány meghódítására, csodálatos hadjáratára. Almavirág tanulmánya, a Műterem cimü munkája, Rózsi lányáról festett arcképe, szélesen, laza körvonalakkal összefogott formáival, tompított, ezüst tónusokkal egybehangolt üde színeivel, a legszebb Ígéret volt megint, egy, a maga korát meghaladó, a közvetlen látványra alapított, de mégis inkább a tudat által kormányozott szintetikus látásmódnak. Az emberi figura ezután csak mint a táj élénkítő járuleka jelent meg festményein. Mindinkább csak a jemyei kert meghittsége indítja munkára, s jóformán tavasszal és nyáron.

Az Ezüstjuhar, a Labdarózsabokor és a Tujafenyö felszökkenö királyi méltósága egy fejedelem bőkezű búcsúajándéka. Mert az öreg Szinyei valóban fejedelem volt. Nemcsak a jernyei menedéken, de a fövárr'S emberfaló zajgásában is. Trónján ült a közönség becsülésében és csodálatában. Fejedelem volt a Főiskola igazgató székében, a képviselöház egymás elleni gyülevészében, a maga kávéházi asztala mellett, ahová szelíd kék szeme helyet intett az odatóduló, zsivajgó féltehetségeknek is, de ahol szives barátsággal védte meg e féltehetségek gúnyolódásától a halk és elvonuló Csontváry Koszka Tivadart. Örömmel emlékezett. Ifjúkoráról is. Diadallal bejárta indulásának küzdelmes útjait. S nem hallott semmit már. Megfaggatta Tihany riadó leányát, de néma maradt az is. Tengette szállt, de hiába. Visszatért... Mig 1920, február 2.-an Jernyéröl elindult újra, és nem tért vissza

többé.... gg

Pál Szinyei

Pál Szinyei Merse (1845-1920) chose a path which was quite contrary to that followed by his contemporaries. Born into a rich family of landowners, he was helped in his studies by his highly educated parents. Being well provided for, he was not compelled to earn a living by his art. Social problems did not come near enough to affect his happy, optimistic nature.

His art was the most harmonious, most optimistic among Hungarian painters. Sunshine, youth, serenity, the freshness of nature, beauty—these were the chief components of his art and the source of his themes: the flirtations of gay nimphs and fawns, a pair of lovers resting at the foot of a haystack, a company eating breakfast outdoors, a sunny terrace, scenes of everyday life and beautiful scenery depicted out of sheer pleasure at the spectacle. He brought poetry into his art. As he wrote to his father: "I have decided to follow one teacher only as my guiding star: nature."

Like most of the Hungarian painters of the period, Szinyei Merse started in Munich, but his work was defined by color. His principal work, "Picnic in May" (Majalis), depicted a party of artists having a picnic outdoors. By European standards, it was a masterpiece from the preimpressionist period. Yet, it carries no mark of Munich and show no resemblance to the pictures of Monet on similar themes. Still, it is related to them since it tackles the same problem.

Szinyei Merse's coloring is suffused with light. His treatment of the atmosphere renders every vibration of air discernible. His vivid composition radiates the freshness of casual spontaneity while rejecting every academic pattern. These qualities make Szinyei's masterpiece the equal of the finest examples of contemporary French avante-garde painting.

Szinyei was overtaken by the tragic fate of Hungarian artists. He was under 30 when he accomplished his masterpiece, yet his life's work

Merse

For those of you who don’t read Hungarian, we present an Englishlanguage version of this month’s “Magyar Nyelv” feature. While not a word-for-word translation, it will give you a general understanding and appreciation of the subject discussed.

remained truncated. When "Picnic in May" was exhibited in Vienna, his backward contemporaries failed to understand the work. An official Hungarian critic later attacked Szinyei's art as "delirium colorans." Szinyei, to whom painting was not a means of earning a living, broke down and retired to his estate where he devoted himself to farming. After the passage of many years, he was again drawn irresistibly to painting.

Among the few works Szinyei Merse completed during this artistically dormant period of his life were the stunning "Woman in Violet" (A lilaruhas no), a portrait of his wife, and "The Nightingale." It was only in 1896 that the greatness and originality of his art was finally recognized and he received one award after another both home and abroad. In the same year, he joined the famous painters' group of Nagybanya (The Hungarian Barbizon) where he was received with all the reverence due a great master. The value of the Nagybanya school's art lies in what it originated. It was the first to present the Hungarian countryside in all its beauty, bringing forth the first complete i encounter of the Hungarian soil with Hungarian genius.

Subsequent generations of painters have started their careers by following in Szinyei Merse's footsteps. He was the first representative of modem Hungarian painting to be awarded international stature.

He died on his estate at Jernye on Feb. 2,1920. [M] f„

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William I’ran Lile. April 2002