Hungarian Sculpture [antikvár]

PUBLISHER'S PREFACE This album is a guide to Hungárián sculpture from its earliest period in the nth century down to the present day. The album does not lay claim to scientific thorougbness, either in the appreciation of the various phases of sculpture or in the number of works of art dealt with. The compilers of the present volume were only led by a desire of affording English readers a glimpse of the richness of Hungárián sculpture, its specific national character, as well as a brief outline of the significant phases of its history over almost one thousand years, concluding with a review of contemporary sculpture. The plates are divided into three parts. Part One contains the relics from the i2th to the i8th century; Part Two presenls the outstanding examples of Hungárián sculpture between 1800 and 1944; and Part Three includes the best works produced since 194}. The reader may be surprised to find that Part Three, which covers only a short period of history, contains many plates in comparison with a century and a half of sculpture, thus testifying that after the Second World War Hungárián sculpture took a new lease of life. During the last decade sculptors have made numerous statues and other plastic works for public squares and buildings, as well as works of art for exhibitions. To put this lively sculptural activity in a true perspective, one ought to bear in mind the horrible devastations of the last war which left behind a Hungary whose people were for the first few years taken up with providing for their daily needs. Two main factors contributed to the fact that in these years many fine works of art were produced by the older generation of sculptors, and many a new talented artist came to the fore. One is the numerous commissions from the State and public institutions and the other the pulsating rhythm of national construction, which is stimulating artists to create. This upswing was facilitated by the circumstance that even in the heyday of formalism and revolution of styles the majority of Hungárián sculptors never lost sight of the criteria of realistic representation and lucidity of expression. The Hungárián sculpture of today continues a living tradition of realism when it strives for socialist realism. Part Three illustrates its achievements so far. In presenting this album, the publishers hope to succeed in making a contribution to the universal history of art by providing a key to unlock a little known domain of a national art.