Dózsa ’72. Dózsa György vizuális reprezentációja a Kádár-korszak idusán
Dózsa ’72. The Visual Representation of György Dózsa on the Ides of the Kádár Era

Summary/Abstract: In 1972, the Hungarian National Gallery organised a graphic and statuette exhibition with the support of the Ministry of Education, while the Studio of Young Artists, a quasi subsidiary of the Foundation for Fine Arts, organised an art competition – both on occasion of the alleged 500th anniversary of Hungarian revolutionary György Dózsa’s birth. Relatively speaking, a great deal of information is available on the Gallery’s exhibition: a proper catalogue was made of it, numerous critiques appeared on it, and the Arts and Crafts Advisory Council (as well as its successors) kept the jury’s records. On the other hand, we know almost nothing about the Studio’s competition. The pictorial source is far from being complete; aside from this, we have to rely on the artists’ memories for the most part. In the Studio of Young Artists’ Association’s archive, the record for their July 1972 general assembly merely mentions in passing that the competition had been successful. Aside from shedding light on the unfair chances “young” artists had against those who already “had it made”, this lack of documentation also shows what a frighteningly short time it takes until art history can no longer be reconstructed, even in a period unravaged by revolutions or war. It can also be seen as indicating that it was not advisable (or not worth it, according to the comrades) to publish the image of Dózsa the Studio had generated.

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