"Traditional" and Avant-Garde Bartok Medals in Hungarian Art

Abstract

20th century Hungarian medallic art includes a rich and varied collection of medals about music. In the first half of the century, Franz Liszt was the composer, to whom most medals were devoted, in the latter half, it has been B61a Bart6k. When he was alive, a mere three medals were made of Bart6k: by J6zsef Rem6nyi in 1923, B6ni Ferenczy in 1936 and Andris Beck in 1939. These artistically exquisite medals were created in the spirit of the laws of the medium, with carefully modelled portraits on the obverse and representations symbolizing Bart6k's work on the reverse. Here, Ferenczy's medal is presented in detail. Beni Ferenczy's medal has a relevance to contemporary medallic art (Figures 1-2). Perfect in both artistic merit and characterization, the piece put an indelible stamp on the theme of Bart6k medals. In the post-war decades it has always been acknowledged by artists as the best portrait. Ferenczy met B61a Bart6k only once, on a railway station when he was travelling. There he made a few excellent drawings of him, followed later by the medal. There are two versions of the portrait on the obverse, while the reverse is identical. The legend cites two lines from the poem Az Ert61 az Oceainig [From the Brook to the Ocean] by the great Hungarian 20 century poet, Endre Ady: one sets out from the Brook and runs into the grand and holy Ocean. The reverse is filled by the representation of the ocean as the symbol of consummation. It is awe-inspiring how the artist was able to suggest the real immensity of the ocean on a round surface of 107 mm in diameter. Apart from its technically unrivalled finish, Ferenczy's medal is