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 N a t io n a lis m in H u n g a r ia n A r t ,
c. 1860-1920

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Teresa (Terri) D. Switzer
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Submitted to the faculty o f the University Graduate School

in partial fulfillment o f the requirements
for die degree
Doctor o f Philosophy
in the Department of Art History,
Indiana University
June 2002

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 UMI N um ber: 30 5 4 5 0 1

Copyright 2002 by
Switzer, Teresa (Terri) Diane

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All rights reserved.
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 A ccep ted by the Graduate Faculty, Indiana U niversity, in partial fu lfillm en t o f the
requirem ents for the degree o f D octor o f Philosophy.

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IE M ich elle F ace§, Ph.D . (Qhair)

D octoral C om m ittee
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1
H qnrM Giassie, Ph.D .
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Sarah L .B u m s, Ph.D .

D ate o f Oral Exam ination: 3 M ay 2002

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c2002
Teresa (Terri) D. Switzer
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ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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iii

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 Terri Sw itzer

N a t i o n a l i s m i n H u n g a r i a n A r t , c . 1 8 6 0-1920

This dissertation traces the d evelopm ent o f a national art based on heroic characters and m otifs
from folk tales and legen d s, situated within the larger social, political and cultural context o f
w hich it form ed an integral part. T his includes the struggle for independence from the Habsburg
Empire and the seism ic changes in Hungary around W orld W ar I. T his research is not lim ited to
the study o f even ts surrounding artists' lives, but en com passes a broad historical context,
focu sin g on the w ays m em bers o f the cultural world reflected the an xieties and nationalist
insecurities H ungarians felt as m em bers o f the European scene. The study is important not only
because it introduces non-H ungarian audiences to an important yet unknown aspect o f Hungarian
culture, but also b ecau se it addresses several issues o f current scholarly concern: national
identity, the renew ed interest in m yth, folklore, and the idealized peasant, artists' co lo n ies and
O rientalism .

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Fam iliarity w ith visual arts o f this period is crucial to an understanding o f m od em Hungarian
culture, and the construction o f Hungarian national identity. D uring the late nineteenth century,
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artists created in respon se to a perceived need to establish a national sch ool o f art em phasizing
the distinctness o f the Hungarian character. National pride led to a renaissance o f 'Hungarian
style' in literature and m usic, fo llo w ed by artists turning their attention to folk culture. Although
aspects o f this have been addressed in other studies, the bulk o f this inform ation is
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undocum ented, particularly outside o f Hungary. Research in the m od em period has focu sed on
the m ovem ent toward abstraction in the realm o f historical narratives, often n eglectin g the
question o f nationalism due to perceptions o f this type o f art as retrograde. T he fact that
Hungarian art is m ore com plicated than studies tend to suggest indicates the need for a
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reevaluation o f the im portance o f these artists and their works.

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 Ta b l e o f C o n t e n t s

Introduction

Chapter I: Landscapes: National Identity in Castles and Regions

Chapter II: Myth o f Origin: Attila and Arpdd

Chapter III: Heroism and History Painting

Chapter IV: Images o f the People: Peasants and Folk Elements

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Chapter V: Artist Colonies

Chapter VI: Exhibiting the Magyar at Worldfs Fairs and Exhibitions

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Chapter VII: The Millennium Celebration
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Epilogue

Illustration List
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Illustrations

Bibliography

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 I n t r o d u c t io n

The nationalist fervor spreading across Western Europe and Russia intensified in

Hungary (fig. 1) in the second half of the nineteenth century, and helped to fuel persistent

Hungarian demands for self-rule. Hungary had become an Austrian principality

following the defeat of the Turks at Vienna in 1683, and Hungarians chafed under

Habsburg rule for the next two centuries, repeatedly rebelling against the Austrians. The

revolutionary wave that started in Paris in February 1848, swept across Europe, reaching

Berlin, Vienna and Budapest a month later. In Hungary, nationalism, and the demand for

self-rule fueled the bourgeois transformation, which in August 1849 escalated into armed

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conflict. In retaliation for the uprising, throughout the 1850s Austrian rulers sought to

solidify Hungary’s role as an inferior and subject the nation within the Hapsburg Empire.
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This turn of events prompted lengthy discourse within Hungarian intellectual and

political circles on what it meant to be a Hungarian. Participants debated which

characteristics distinguished the nation from non-Hungarian neighbors, and how their
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particular national identity might best be presented to the western world. Nationalist

priorities emerged not only in political and historical rhetoric, but also through a variety

of cultural vehicles—literature, music and painting—and Hungarian artists served as

representatives of these societal attitudes. They created in response to a perceived need

to establish a national school of art that emphasized the distinctness of the Hungarian

character, ultimately turning their attention to indigenous folk art and culture.

Interdisciplinary exhibitions also revealed these priorities. As Hungary participated in

world's fairs and expositions, decisions were made that, overall, emphasized the ancient

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 eastern character of the Hungarian people. Eventually, this prompted Western nations to

view Hungary as not only Eastern but also as plagued by those stereotypical

characteristics linked by Westerners to the Eastern Other: indolent, oversexed,

undisciplined and. intemperate. Although Hungarians perceived ancient virtues in their

eastern ancestry, Europeans discerned the vices of an orientalized Other in the linkage

with the East; Hungary's self-constructed positive identity thus became the West's

negative interpretation.

The rising nationalism of the nineteenth century was certainly not solely a Hungarian

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phenomenon, and artistic interest in defining one's heritage increased throughout Europe

during the second half of the nineteenth century. The combination of Napoleonic wars,
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colonialism, the multitude of border wars and German romantic philosophy led to an

upsurge of nationalist tendencies throughout nineteenth-century Europe, as intellectuals

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searched for means of underscoring the unique qualities of the different horizons of

Europe. Landscape painting became an important means of drawing attention to a

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nation's distinctive terrain, and the natural evolution of this movement to encompass the

unique peasant heritage of each country also served as a means of promoting national

identity. As industrialization forced the movement of rural folk to the cities and hopes of

economic prosperity, the general glorification of industrious peasants became a prevalent

theme. Throughout Europe, peasants had traditionally been responsible for the

production of intricate woodworking, delicate weavings, decorative embroidery and

pottery, but due to the social reforms of the century native peasant art forms were in

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 danger of abandonment. Nostalgia for this rapidly vanishing way of life fostered the

subsequent turn to peasant life and folk art for inspiration.

These circumstances also affected Hungarian attitudes towards the nation's peasants.

Historically, Hungary was an agricultural-based economy. Around the turn of the

century, however, technological advances spurred industrialization. Rapid urbanization

followed, and the population of Hungarian cities dramatically increased, with the overall

population of the nation increasing by seven million between 1850 and 1910. The

progress of industry was insufficient to provide for this growth, and poverty in rural areas

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forced the abandonment of the traditional way of life. Many Hungarians expressed

concern over the rapidly vanishing pastoral life, since the Hungarian peasant was
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regarded as the purest link to those tribes of ancient Hungarian horsemen who first

traveled from the East to conquer the region in the ninth century. In the collective
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memory of the nation, the lifestyle of the Hungarian peasant thus underscored the

differences between their own eastern heritage and the western heritage of their
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neighbors.

However, the presence of numerous minorities coexisting with ethnic Hungarians within

the nation's borders complicated Hungarian nationalism. Confronting the Austrian foe

necessitated a cohesive front, and political and cultural Hungarian leaders magyarized, or

sought to make Hungarian, residents of the Hungarian land. Through the concept of

magyarization, Hungarian authorities ensured an emphasis on the Hungarian—embodied

in their own language by the word magyar—spirit of the nation, belying the nationalist

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 sentiments which persisted among non-Hungarian minorities. The Hungarian folk

heritage would become instrumental in the larger political issues of nationalism and

magyarization. The reasons for this focus on provincial folk traditions were not only

artistic, but also economic and political. A national art was first of all assumed to fortify

the national character, and as a country with numerous minorities—Germans, Jews,

Greeks, Italians and Serbs—Hungarians could, through reminders of an ancient art,

maintain cultural superiority and unify the nation. Creating and imposing a myth of

origin, a national art, and the customs and language which supported them assimilated the

mixed races of the country, and was widely supported by Hungarians and non-

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Hungarians alike. Enthusiasm for magyarization was so avid that any "...accomplished

subject [of any ethnic group] who was willing to be assimilated..." could advance to the
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highest ranks of society, and often those most enthusiastic about the Magyar character

were in feet not of Hungarian ancestry.1

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Persistent military defeats by Prussia and a military defeat in Italy in 1859 weakened the
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Austrian hand. The economic and political consequences of these setbacks eventually

forced the Austro-Hungarian Compromise (Ausgleich) of 1867, which recognized the

equal status of Hungary within the Habsburg Empire, and granted the nation a separate

government and parliament. Contemporary national anxieties over the status of the

Compromise, Habsburg Emperor Franz Jozsefs advancing years, and archduke Franz

Ferdinand's hostilities to the Hungarian regime further contributed to the tensions and

strained political atmosphere as the century drew to a close. The gains of the

Compromise of 1867, through which Hungary sought recognition as an equal partner in

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 the Habsburg Empire, did not mitigate nationalist sentiments. Instead, the nationalist

fervor intensified in Hungary throughout the final years of the century, culminating in the

1896 Millennium celebration in Budapest, which commemorated the cultural if not

political independence of the Hungarian people.

The 1896 festivities exhibited the Hungarian nation to the Hungarian people; as a

celebration o f 1000 years of the Hungarian statehood, it was the consummate

glorification of the Hungarian people. However, the presentation of the nation to a non-

Hungarian audience at international exhibitions and world's fairs prior to World War I,

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and audience response to the presentation of magyar culture was equally energetic. Self­

presentation of the magyar within this context necessarily considered the priorities of
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nationalism. During this important period, Hungarian intellectuals increasingly sought to

establish a national identity in order to emphasize the distinctness of the Hungarian

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national character while de-emphasizing ties with the West. As in Western Europe and

Russia, Hungarians embraced their folk traditions as a means of promoting national

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identity. The unique cultural and historical context of Hungary, however, presented

priorities quite different from those of Western Europe.

In this regard, Eric Hobsbawm's distinction between "the formation of nations and

'nationalism'...and the creation of nation-states" is instructive.2 Where some states are

'nations' beyond a doubt, other groups—like the Hungarians—have alternatively based

their claim to nationhood on what Hobsbawm refers to as "political fact, institutional

history or the cultural history of the literate."3 The Hungarian claim to nationhood was

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 motivated by the lack of an ethnically homogeneous population, and an abundance of

political feet. In the collective memory, Hungary was a political entity whose power had

been usurped by the Austrians. The rivalry between these nations increasingly impressed

on Hungarian intellectuals the need to consolidate the concept of nationality in order to

distinguish their nation from her Austrian rival. A modem Hungary needed to be

created—one equal to, yet distinct from the countries of Western Europe.4

The creation of this identity was firmly rooted in the ancestry of the Hungarian peasant,

and the myths and legends that supported a unique genealogy. Throughout Europe,

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appreciation for the national landscape and indigenous peoples concentrated on concepts

of the idealized primitive, spiritually healthy within a simplified lifestyle, at one with
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nature, tied not only to the native land, but more importantly to ancestral roots and the

collective memories of the nation. Within this context, artists sought to gather ethnic
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groups together for solidarity by creating symbols of the nation, which were most evident

in the legends of the nation. Oftentimes these symbols had been created or re-created in
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the very recent past, and artists provided visual imagery to consolidate the perpetuation of

national myths. Such was the case in Hungary.

As historian Eva Kovacs writes, the narrative behind a myth is crucial, for "the never-

ending character of myths provides ample space for association, so it makes the

participation in symbolic action easier."5 In Hungary's case, the narrative was

magyarization, and as intellectuals throughout Europe sought to emphasize the special

qualities of their respective homelands, Hungarians focused on ancestral roots as the

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 isolating factor. In the minds of nineteenth-century Hungarian intellectuals, national

character stemmed from a unique ancestral past and they believed themselves heirs to

'racial specifics' not found in other Europeans. The notion of Hungarians as 'People of

the East'—in the minds of Hungarians, at least—elevated the status of their folk culture to

the only remaining evidence of an ancient past separate from that of Slavic, Austrian and

German neighbors. Although twentieth-century scholarship disputes this idea, the

legends of the East—advanced in literature and art—persisted in popular belief.

National pride based on these notions first led to a renaissance of Hungarian style in

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literature and music, followed by a revival of indigenous folk art and culture. The focus

on the East and provincial folk traditions had not only an artistic dimension, but
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economic and political repercussions as well. Intellectuals like the influential Hungarian

ethnographer J6zsef Huszka supported these notions; Huszka wrote of a past which by
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popular belief held traces of "an ancient Eastern, Parthian-Sassanid" character, coupled

with evidence of a "Hindu kinship," recognizing these traits in Hungarian folk art.6 First
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promoted by Anonymous, a medieval chronicler believed to have studied in Paris, the

myth traced the Magyars back to the tribe of King Magog: "...and the mighty King Attila

sprang from the seed of this king. Emerging from Scythia in the four hundred and fifty

first year of the Incarnation of our Lord, he came to the land of Pannonia [Hungary] with

a vast army, and, expelling the Romans, took possession of the country...Much later, from

the line of the same King Magog, descended Ogyek, the father of Chief Almos, from

whom descend the kings and leaders of the land of the Magyars."7

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 This thought persisted in the minds of Hungarians, for even in the twentieth century, the

poet Endre Ady would declare, "I am the son of King Gog of Magog."8 Other prominent

nineteenth and early twentieth-century figures—reformer and poet Sandor Petofi, authors

M6r J6kai and Janos Arany, composers Ferenc (Franz) Liszt, Zoltan Kodaly and Bela

Bartok, and architect Odon Lechner—also supported these tenets and their implications

for Hungarian culture through their compositions, literary works, art and architecture.

These individuals believed that a clearly delineated national art and culture would support

the emergence of a national character. Intellectuals like these believed that despite its

numerous ethnic minorities Hungary could, through preserving perceived remnants of

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ancient tradition, achieve the goal of asserting its cultural superiority and unifying its

population. By creating and imposing a legend of origin, revitalizing folklore, art,

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customs and language, Hungarian intellectuals sought to assimilate the numerous ethnic

minorities residing within national borders into the Hungarian population, thereby
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controlling the same groups.

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Promoting an East-West dichotomy did have its drawbacks. As a country straddling the

divide between East and West, between the western-stereotyped civilized and the 'non­

civilized,' and between modernity and tradition, Hungarians felt isolated and rejected,

insecure with their paradoxical status within the process of modernization.9 The poet

Vorosmarty, described the confusion with which the Hungarian regarded the world

around him:

"He looks towards the west, he looks wistfully back to the east,
The Magyar, detached and forsaken branch of his race...."10

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 For the Hungarian, the European West represented progress, and with it an economic and

social sophistication that they lacked. However, as ethnographer Tamds Hofer writes, the

West simultaneously represented "both a desired goal" and an oppressive, foreign

influence against which "the national culture...[and]...character had to be protected."11

Forced to choose between modernity and tradition, intellectuals seeking to protect the

isolated Hungarian culture from Western corruption in order to maintain spurious racial

purity, turned to the East for their tradition, selecting—in Hofer's words—a heritage

Westerners considered "even more peripheral and backward" than some Westerners

considered the Hungarian culture to be.12 The industrialization and westernization of

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Hungary coincided with its mythical identification to what Europeans perceived as a

backward, primitive culture. Paradoxically, Westerners not only accepted the identity of
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Hungarians as removed from the West, but helped to perpetuate this notion as well, to the

degree that Hungarians protested they were being "balkanized."13

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Thus the widespread belief that Hungarians had migrated from Asia before the ninth
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century sustained the idealization of the East as the "mythical, ancient homeland to which

the Hungarians could retreat when disillusioned with the West."14 Hungarians M ed to

recognize, however, that the qualities Hungarians regarded as ancient virtues—said

virtues being anything that hearkened back to the pagan, shamanistic traditions of the first

tribes of conquering horsemen—were translated in the modernized European mind as

evidence of deeply embedded and irreparable primitivism. Whereas the myth of Eastern

origin allowed Hungarians to rationalize Austrians as simply of a different mentality—no

better, no worse than Hungarians—this caused Austrians to consider their neighbor as a

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 problematic Eastern inferior. Evidence of this can be found in census reports compiled

by the Habsburg Monarchy's Statistical Office, which separated European and Asian

ethnic groups living in the Empire. While Germans, Czechs, Slovenes, Italians and

Romanians qualified as European, all Hungarians, Armenians, Gypsies and Jews were

labeled as Asian. As Hofer observes, "given the ethnic stereotypes of the period, this

grouping was by no means complimentary to the Hungarians."15

The expression of Hungarian national identity materialized through an assortment of

thematic and stylistic approaches. Landscape paintings (Chapter I) focusing on specific

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castles and regions of historical significance allowed artists to reinforce connections

between the unique terrain and its importance to the people's history. Representations of
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Attila and Arp&d (Chapter II) supported the myth of Hunnish origin, and underscored the

unique Eastern heritage of the Hungarian people, aligning the nation with a powerful and
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intimidating ancestry. Through history paintings depicting legendary Hungarian heroes

(Chapter III), artists created parallels between heroism in the past—particularly examples
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of brave rebellion against oppressive foreign rule, like the Ottomans—and the need for

courage and valor in the contemporary struggle for independence from Austria. Images

of the "true" Hungarians, the peasants (Chapter IV), provided vehicles for artists to again

celebrate the nation's distinctiveness from the West, as well as the noble lifestyle of a

people untainted by Western industrialization. Art colonies (Chapter V) provided artists

with an atmosphere conducive to consolidating these priorities in support the creation of

a Hungarian art on Hungarian soil. Colonies also facilitated ethnographic collecting, and

the adaptation of folk art forms into fine art, particularly for exhibitions of the Hungarian

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 at world's fairs and international expositions (Chapter VI). Each of these facets

contributed to the expression of nationalism in Hungarian art, which was clearly

articulated in the grand celebration of the Hungarian state at the Millennium Celebration

of 1896 (Chapter VII). The legacy of Hungarians as Eastern, unabashedly expressed at

this event, lingered in the European memory with devastating effect during the twentieth

century (Epilogue).

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 I . I c o n s o n t h e H u n g a r ia n L a n d s c a p e

The urban problems o f the nineteenth century fostered a psychological and physical need

for a return to nature. Realist depictions of the native landscape carried deeper, symbolic

meanings—indicators o f national identity. At a time when peasants were idealized and

believed to be in closer contact with their environment than were urbanites, artists

depicted scenes that suggested they, too, were in touch with the soul of the land. Such

images were driven by a nationalist interest in the native landscape, and sought to

communicate spiritually through a shared pool of values and knowledge. Intrinsic to this

concept was the belief in a kind of national collective unconscious, as described by Pierre

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Bourdieu. In Hungary, these tendencies revealed themselves in the depiction of certain

geographical areas of the nation regarded as intrinsically Hungarian. For example, the
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depiction of ancient castles reminded viewers not only of the beauty of the Hungarian
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landscape, but more importantly, of the noble history of the ancient ancestors who

resided there. Hungarian artists similarly spoke to the collective unconscious through

images of the puszta or Great Plain, and images of Szdkely, a region of Transylvania
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whose residents were believed to maintain the closest links to the ancient past and ancient

Hungarian folklore.

Castles & Battle Sites

One example of this can been seen in the watercolor of the picturesque fourteenth century

castle of Arva (fig. 2), painted by KarolyLajosLibay (1816-1888) in 1857. In present-

day Slovakia, on the northwestern border of the former Hungarian lands (pre-Trianon),

the castle of Arva was a royal residence under King Mathias and as the home to his

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 "black army," served a critical role in protecting the northern border of the country. A

popular tourist destination in the early nineteenth century, the unusually well preserved

edifice attracted attention when Baron Alajos Mednyanszky featured it in an 1820

publication. Mednyanszky's Handbookfo r the History o f the Fatherland (Taschenbuch

fu r die Vaterlandische Geschichte) included an illustration of the site by the Viennese

artist Eduard Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1790-1819).16 Jacob Alt and Thomas Endor, also

Viennese artists, were likewise drawn to the site. However, where Arva's popularity in

Austria stemmed largely from its fine state of preservation and the scenery surrounding it,

Hungarian artists were attracted by its historical significance. Indeed, the precise

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implications of historical landscapes could only be fully comprehended by a native

audience.
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When Hungarians saw the painting o f Diosgyor Castle by Karoly Telepy (1828-1906),
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for example, they immediately associated the site with "Nagy Lajos," or Louis (I) the

Great (1326-1382), whose aggressive foreign policy extended the borders of his
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Hungarian-Polish Empire to the Baltic, the Adriatic and the Black Sea. The second of the

Angevin rulers who followed the House of Arpad, Lajos was primarily responsible for

the construction and reinforcement o f Diosgyor Castle, which lay directly en route to the

northern portion of his domain. Nestled within the forests of the Biikk Mountains, from

the 1340s on, Diosgyor provided Lajos with hunting grounds and Telepy with an ideal

subject for his classical romantic approach to landscape painting. The image of Diosgyor

recalled the past greatness of a nation under a powerful leader and, as historian P£1 Engel

has pointed out, Lajos evoked solace for "the misery and the bad conscience of the

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 present."17 In his Ruins o f Diosgyor (fig. 3) of 1860, Telepy heightened the impact of the

castle by creating a double image, with the towers reflected in the water below. Across

the lake, the idyllic grouping of peasant women in colorful—and typically Hungarian—

dress balances the image, both visually and symbolically. On one hand, he presented the

towering remnants of a powerful ruler from a heyday of Hungarian history; on the other,

a tranquil cluster of idealized and seemingly contented simple folk in the evocative

setting of a dilapidated castle.

Like many of his contemporaries, Telepy was strongly influenced by the work of

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Hungarian landscape painter Kdroly Mark6 the Elder (1791-1860), who spent much of

his lifetime working in Italy. Because of his popularity, many Hungarian art students
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were attracted to the artistic circle in Appeggi, in which Mark6 was a significant member.

Marko's depiction of the medieval castle at Visegrad (fig. 4) is an icon of nineteenth-

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century Hungarian art, and this location arguably held even greater significance for the

nineteenth-century Hungarian viewer than did Diosgyor Castle, since Visegr&d became
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the capital city in 1323. The city also housed the royal palace, and was an important

governmental center during the rule of renaissance king Mdtyas Corvinus, who, unlike

Lajos, was not only revered, but was also Hungarian, a factor of particular significance at

a time when the nation chafed under foreign rule.

The citadel at Visegr&d was perched high on a hill, overlooking a bend in the river

Danube, and the fortress was initially begun by B61a IV (1206-1270), one of the final

rulers in the Arpad line. King Bela's rule began in 1235, and he was immediately

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