FERENCZY, István

The writer Ferenc Kazinczy was a significant figure of the Hungarian Enlightment.

Istv�n Ferenczy, the great pioneer of Hungarian sculpture, is closely connected with the hardest period of Hungarian fine arts. It is less well known however, that he originally intended to be a medallist, and studied medal art of the Viennese Academy. In 1823 he made a bronze medal representing Pope Pius VII, proving that he was excellent realist. At that time most memorial medals in Hungary were made by Austrians. Later he turned to monumental sculpture, but in the last phase of his life, after his return to his native town of Rimaszombat, he again turned to medals for his own amusement. He worked mainly in wax. The most beautiful piece of this last series is the one shown here, of his sister, Zsuzsanna Ferenczy. Istv�n Ferenczy’s medals were only a hopeful promise of an independent Hungarian medal art - a flash in the dark in the in the middle of the nineteenth century. It was not for another fifty years that this art began to come into its own.

This statue by Istv�n Ferenczy, “Shepherdess” or as he preferred to call it, “Awakening of the Arts”, may be regarded as the symbolic beginning of the revival of Hungarian sculpture. This excellent piece of nineteenth-century sculpture represents the birth of fine arts and more precisely the birth of drawing. In December1820, the artist wrote to his brother, “Once a shepherdess on the departure of her lover scratched his shadow in the sand so that his likeness would remain with her for ever.”

Ferenczy completed his Shepherdess while studying in Rome. It was carved in the courtyard of the Palazzo di Venezia and followed the advice of Canova. It is well known that the artist who worked in Thorvaldsen’s studio did not get on with his master, and his art too differs greatly from that of Thorvaldsen. At the same time he was very enthusiastic about Canova, who would not admit him to his studio, only taking notice of him much later. This dual influence of the two masters had a good effect on Ferenczy’s art, and Shepherdess also shows the advantages of this duality. He has translated a story into sculpture. The quiet summation, securely built structure, the composition and the motif itself are the outcome of the attitude he subconsciously adopted from Thorvaldsen, while the details and sensitivity of the carving clearly reflect Canova’s influence.

As soon as he had finished Shepherdess, Ferenczy packed it himself and sent it back to Hungary, along with the bust of the Hungarian poet Csokonai, and presented them to the Nation.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 3 minutes):

Johannes Brahms: Hungarian Dance No 6

Ferenc K�lcsey (1790-1838) was a Hungarian poet, author of the Hungarian Anthem.