The Cennini Society. The influence of Cennino Cennini’s Trattato della Pittura on the life and works of the Hungarian Gödöllő Artists’ Colony and György Leszkovszky

 

Also on: https://letteraturaartistica.blogspot.com/2014/10/zsuzsanna-benko-cennini-society.html

Excerpt from the author’s study entitled ’The Guild Members, the Cennini Society and the Spiritual Artists.Artists’ societies as the descendants of the Gödöllő Artists’ Colony.’ originally published as: Céhbeliek, Cenniniek, Spirituálisok – Művésztársaságok a gödöllői művésztelep jegyében. In: Tüskés Anna (szerk.): Ars Perennis. Fiatal Művészettörténészek II. Konferenciája, tanulmányok. CentrArt Egyesület, Budapest, 2010.169-175.  Amended and translated by the author.

 

In the first half of the 20th century, besides the ruling avant-garde schools, the influence of the Gödöllő Artists’ Colony was a powerful one, too. We should take into account not only the survival of the art nouveau elements, but also the ideology of the colony’s artists, which inspired many.

The Gödöllő Artists' Colony was mainly marked by the name of the founders Aladár Körösfői-Kriesch (1893-1920) and Sándor Nagy. Their decorative art, aspiring for the perfect Gesamtkunstwerk along with their rich idealism affected artists, naturally the deepest the ones in direct contact with them.[1] This fact is supported by the existence of the three artists’ societies that were directly related to the colony, and were formed on the basis of the common principles.

The founder of the Guild Members’ Society (Céhbeliek) was Aladár Körösfői-Kriesch himself. The basic idea of the society was the belief in Art, and they organised exhibitions without stylistic restraints. The Spiritual Artists’ Society (Spirituális Művészek Szövetsége) was created by a member of the Gödöllő Artists’ Colony, György Jenő Remsey, and was based on the moral principles of the colony, so that the members of the society would fight for the intellectual redemption of humankind.  The Cennini Society (Cennini Társaság) was founded by the former college students of Körösfői-Kriesch. They consciously remained far from the actual avant-garde trends, and chose a traditional, religious and deeply moral art instead.

Each of the three societies followed different aspects of the colony's efforts. The Guild Members Society was held together by the person of Aladár Körösfői-Kriesch, and their program, their “deep faith in art”.  The Spiritual Artists Association – similarly to Körösfői’s Guild Members - reflected the ars poetica of the colony member and founder Jenő Remsey, who regarded art as a form of life and the artist as a prophet. In his world view the ideas of Christianity, Gnosticism and Theosophy were mixed with the thoughts of Nietzsche and Jenő Boér in a transcendent mixture.[2] Meanwhile the members of the Cennini Society deemed the mural traditions rediscovered by the colony the most important, and fought for a moral and religious art that would also incorporate Hungarian folk art motifs.  

Körösfői’s respect for Cennini was well known, and has a written record as well: his fresco entitled The Source of Art (1907, Academy of Music) is dedicated to the Italian master “My gratitude to Cennino Cennini, homage to the Siennese masters”.  He treated Cennino Cennini’s (c. 1360 – before 1427)[3]  work entitled Il Libro dell'Arte o Trattato della Pittura (c. between 1390-1400)[4]as a bible,  where the Italian master quite elaborately described the techniques and recipes of painting. Körösfői-Kriesch, similar to the English Pre-Raphaelites regarded it utterly important to reach back, even in his technique, to his ideal, the mural paintings of the late medieval - early Renaissance Italy. 

Fig 1. Aladár Körösfői-Kriesch: The Source of Art. Fresco at the Academy of Music.
Source of the picture: https://www.bibl.u-szeged.hu/inf/szakdoli/2003/puskas/korosf_muv2.html

 

As Aladár Körösfői-Kriesch during his student years had all the types of education (learnt at the Budapest School of Decorative Arts, Károly Lotz's School, attended the Munich Academy, the Venetian Academy, the Julian Academy in Paris and was a private student of Bertalan Székely he had gained an insight into almost all kinds.[5] Thus his principles of art education crystallized on the basis of his own experience, and he concluded that the biggest problem with academic education is its "unrealistic, outdated, authoritarian and anti-individualist system". Not only in painting, but also in art education his idols were Bertalan Székely and the English predecessors, the Pre-Raphaelites, who both regarded the guild-type workshop system and the balance of theoretical and practical education as the solution.[6] Körösfői repeatedly put his educational principles in writing, then in the practice (he began to teach at the Academy in 1911) and trained the next generation of both theoretically and practically trained and skilled professionals.[7] He thought that all fields of art are based on craftsmanship, which – contrary to art, which is an innate talent - can be taught, and it is essential, since "the real thing, great art can only be reached through great craftsmanship."[8] Therefore one of the key concerns of his program was the thorough understanding of all painting techniques and a workshop-like, practical application of this knowledge. This effort coincided with the 1910s reforms in the Hungarian School of Applied Arts, reflecting to the reforms of the English Arts and Crafts movement, resulting in a number of commissions for exterior building decoration executed by the decorative painting class in the first decade of the century. These commissions enabled the students to try a wide range of the studied techniques, and their involvement in the practical work.

Körösfői acquired most of his knowledge of traditional painterly techniques from Cennini’s Trattato, and forwarded this technical knowledge to his students. Though one should not forget about the dangers of the manuscript being survived in copies and translations – the possible consequences of the deterioration of the text itself, the technical mistranslations and the parts that had been missed out because of having been obvious to the contemporaries.[9] Nevertheless Körösfői was called by many the 20th century Hungarian reviver of the real a fresco technique - even though his predecessors, teachers (eg, Károly Lotz) also used true fresco techniques. By all means Körösfői returned to what he thought to be the traditional techniques and manual work processes – he made his students powder and mix their own paint and work according to them. His teaching and working method can be examined perfectly in Zebegény, through the design and execution of the wall paintings of the Catholic church, that he - as an art pedagogical task - gave to one of his best students and assistants: György Leszkovszky.[10]   

 

Fig. 2.: Nádor Gábor, György Leszkoszky, Aladár Körösfői-Kriesch and Ferenc Ortner (left to right) on a photo-postcard, sent from Tirgu Mures during the execution of the decoration of the Cultural Palace, to Elemér Czakó, director of the School of Applied Arts on 30 August, 1914. At auction: 2010.12.14., Opera Antikvárium. Source of the picture: https://axioart.com/popup_pic.php?pic=images/live_images/original/2695/309.jpg

 

György Leszkovszky (1891-1968) was in his 5th year at the Academy when he became Aladár Körösfői-Kriesch’s student in 1911, and already had a strikingly similar style to his master.[11] He joined the circle of Körösfői-Kriesch, took part in the decoration of the Cultural Palace of Tirgu Mures, became his assistant professor, and in 1913 he was commissioned to design and conduct the implementation of the mural decoration of the Roman Catholic Church of Zebegény (1910-14), which Körösfői-Kriesch regarded as an art pedagogical task, where he also worked with the other members of the future Cennini Society: Antal Diósy and Vince Hende.

 

Fig.3. Zebegény, interior. Source of the picture: https://www.utazzitthon.hu/galeria-latnivalo.php?id=936

 

György Leszkovszky followed the painting techniques and spirituality of Körösfői, such as his respect to Cennino Cennini. As he wrote in 1930 in the periodical Magyar Iparművészet: "My unforgettable master Körösfői-Kriesch Aladár revived the real fresco technique based on the book of Cennino Cennini,  and I owe most of my knowledge about fresco painting to him”.[12] It is a significant evidence for his respect that when Leszkovszky founded an art society gave the name Cennini to the new company.  

The Cennini Society was founded in December 1920, soon after the death (16 June 1920) of Aladár Körösfői-Kriesch by his ex-students: György Leszkovszky, Vince Hende, Antal Diósy and the goldsmith teacher of the School of Applied Arts, István Csajka. The name of the Society could be regarded as a tribute to the master, and is explained in the preface of the catalogue of the Society's first exhibition, held in January 1921. György Leszkovszky’s preface written in the name of the Cennini Society includes a short biography of Cennino Cennini and describes the reasons of their choice: Körösfői-Kriesch’s high regard of the Italian master, and the fact, that Leszkovszky, Diósy and Hende mainly dealt with fresco painting at that time. However, according to the Society’s view, with this traditionalist attitude based on moral values they got away from the current tendencies, and opposed, "the conception that places Impressionism and the extremist tendencies above everything else, thus making superficiality almost compulsory in art."[13]

Since they were mainly involved in fresco painting and designing stained glass windows, they could present only a part of their craftwork - watercolour paintings, designs, tapestries and sculptures – to the audience of the Nemzeti Szalon (National Salon) in their exhibitions. Critics have mostly highlighted the influence of Aladár Körösfői-Kriesch, calling the Cennini Society the spiritual heir of the deceased master.[14]

The poster of their first exhibition was designed by Antal Diósy, and shows a hooded monk sitting in the middle of a flowery field. The monk is drawing or writing something on a paper in his lap, and around him there are Christian symbols: passion flowers, lilies and doves, showing the society’s spiritual attitude, their humble approach to art, and their religious, virtuous aspect of life. The simplified version of this drawing monk became the symbol of the Cennini Society, appearing on all the covers of all their exhibition catalogues, though in a relatively altered form from the second exhibition (1922) onwards. From 1922 the logo is framed and the name of the society is written inside the circular frame.

Fig.4.: Diósy Antal: Poster for the first exhibition of the Cennini Society. Magyar Képzőművészeti Egyetem Könyvtár.  Source of the picture: https://voyager.arts7.hu/voyager/images/plakat/plakat75.jpg

    

Fig.5.: The catalogue of the first exhibition of the Cennini Society. Nemzeti Szalon, 1921., Szépművészeti Múzeum Könyvtára.

Fig.6.: The catalogue of the second exhibition of the Cennini Society. Nemzeti Szalon, 1922.; Szépművészeti Múzeum Könyvtára.

The famous contemporary critic Arthur Elek in the columns of the periodical Nyugat (West) directly labelled the Society as "Aladár Körösfői Kriesch’s sowing" that had sprouted from inspiration of his fresco at the Music Academy, dedicated to Cennino Cennini.  He also emphasised that the members of the Society followed the theoretical and technical teachings of Körösfői-Kriesch and that they "decided not to let the painting tradition started by Aladár Körösfői-Kriesch fade away."[15] According to Jenő Remsey, a member the Gödöllő artists' colony, the works of the Cennini Society are characterised by a "high level of self-discipline, sense of style and above all, a devout respect for the artistic ethic, and steadfast love of the knowledge of the craft" and thus they provide a model for their peers.[16]

It is important to note though that the members of the Cennini Society did not share Körösfői-Kriesch’s view of life that incorporated pantheism, Gnosticism, Tolstoyism and prophetism – the art of the members was characterized by deep religiosity, categorical respect for tradition and an infinite humility towards the arts. Accordingly most of their topics were religious in nature, mostly executed as church frescoes.

During the existence of the Cennini Society they had three exhibitions, all of them in the Nemzeti Szalon  (National Salon), and all were positively reported in the daily newspapers, emphasizing the legacy of Aladár Körösfői-Kriesch when analysing the "slightly schoolish and stilted" but at the same time "quiet and clean" art of the members.[17]

Only the founders participated in the first two exhibitions, but at the third exhibition the Society expanded its membership. The Gödöllő Artists Colony’s heritage - the “Gesamtkunstwerk attitude” - also manifested in these exhibitions: the artists equally presented fine art and applied art works: mostly watercolour landscapes, but also literary illustrations, wall painting designs, glass windows and design and theatrical scenery designs.

The first exhibition was held in the National Salon in January 1921. Antal Diósy presented himself with 131 pieces of artwork, mainly aquarelles, pencil, crayon and coal drawings - mostly landscapes of Hungarian lands, and his memories of the First World War - amongst others a lithography and etching entitled the Allegory of War, showing mourning naked women over a soldier, while the riders of the Apocalypse hover over them. Vince Hende similarly presented aquarelle landscapes but around half of his 64 works were sketches and drawings from theatrical performances and stained glass window designs with various topics from Tristan and Isolde to the Madonna. György Leszkovszky had the fewest works at the first exhibition, only 15 pieces, half of them watercolour paintings, the other half his self-taught sculptural works.

Fig.7.: Antal Diósy: The Allegory of War. Lithography, before 1922. Antal Diósy Heritage, Gödöllő Municipal Museum.

 

The second exhibition took place in the next year, in December 1922.[18] Again the three founder artist presented themselves, and similarly to the previous year, approximately half of the exhibited works were watercolour paintings. The other half though brought surprises to the public: Antal Diósy showed his tapestry designs and also ready woven carpets as well. The carpets had their topics from Hungarian (Székely) ballad circle and world literature: Kelemen Kőmíves, Kata Kádár, At the end of September (Sándor Petőfi), Dante, Isolde, - and were both stylistically and technically closely related to the carpets of Gödöllő weaving workshop.[19]

 

        
 

Fig.8. Antal Diósy: Dante. Photo of a tapestry. Antal Diósy Heritage, Gödöllő Municipal Museum.

Fig.9. Antal Diósy: Kata Kádár. Photo of a tapestry design. Antal Diósy Heritage, Gödöllő Municipal Museum.

Fig.10. Antal Diósy:  Kelemenné Kőmíves. Photo of a tapestry design. Antal Diósy Heritage, Gödöllő Municipal Museum.

Vince Hende presented mainly the proofs of his applied art commissions: designs for frescoes, glass windows, and many charcoal drawings and tempera paintings. György Leszkovszky besides his watercolour paintings depicting Hungarian landscapes and buildings showed to the public some of his gyps sculptures, and his design for the interior painting of the Chapel of the Benedictian Abbey of Tihany (which is only one of the numerous church interiors he painted in the following 40 years) and his watercolour series that illustrates one of the poems of the famous Hungarian poet, Endre Ady, entitled To cry, to cry, to cry (Sírni, Sírni, sírni).

             

Fig.11.: György Leszkovszky: Laura/Study for a portrait. Published in: s.n.: A Cennini-Társaság a Nemzeti Szalonban. Színházi Élet, 1922. (s.no.) p.37.

Fig.12.: György Leszkovszky, Study for “To listen to the humming organs/And the deep rumbling of the grave bells”, c. 1921, watercolour on paper, 495 x 400 mm. Gödöllői Municipal Museum, Gödöllő. Inv.No.: K.2007.117. (photo: Zsuzsanna Benkő)

Fig.13.: Vince Hende: Design for a glass window. Published in: s.n.: A Cennini-Társaság a Nemzeti Szalonban. Színházi Élet, 1922. (s.no.) p.37.

 

It is really probable that the Society planned the next exhibition in the National Salon the year 1923, since the heritage of Antal Diósy includes a poster sketch for this occasion depicting a Middle Ages aristocratic lady/princess, and in her heraldry one can read the date of the planned exhibition (January 1923). For some reason the next exhibition however only took place in 1926, four years after the second, though the place was the same, the National Salon.[20]

   

Fig.14. Antal Diósy: Sketch for the poster of the third exhibition of the Cennini Society, 1923. Antal Diósy Heritage. Gödöllő Municipal Museum.

Fig.15. The catalogue of the third exhibition of the Cennini Society. Nemzeti Szalon, 1922.; Szépművészeti Múzeum Könyvtára.

At the third exhibition of the Cennini Society there were new members: Móric Gábor, Ede Halápy, Jenő Horváth, Lajos Márton - painters and graphic artists.  Vince Hende, again, brought mainly designs for monumental commissions – at that time he was painting ceiling frescos for villas and theatres, designing glass windows, and he made the design for a carpet made ​​in the weaving workshop of Gödöllő, the Two Shepherd (Juhászos) – the only tapestry from the above mentioned ones that is still intact, and on show in the Hungarian Museum of Applied Arts, all the rest of the carpets are lost. It depicts two Hungarian shepherds, one of them is playing the flute. The frame is very closely linked to Körösfői-Kriesch Aladár tapestry designs.

Antal Diósy brought three tapestries, and watercolour paintings from his study trips to Amsterdam and Paris in the previous years. Ede Halápy presented only aquarelles, György Leszkovszky and Lajos Márton a variety of oil, tempera paintings, charcoal and pencil drawings, while Jenő Horváth debuted with his illustrations for the Hungarian writer, Ferenc Móra’s Georgikon.

   

Fig.16.: Vince Hende: Tchaikovsky serenade. Új Idők, 1926. XXXII. no. 7. p.188.

 

Fig.17. Jenő Horváth: Illustration for Ferenc Móra’s Georgikon. Királyi Magyar Egyetemi Nyomda, Budapest, s.a., p. 41.

 

It is still impossible to exactly determine the date of the termination of the Cennini Society.[21] After the three exhibitions all members acted independently, either as a church interior painter and art teacher, such as György Leszkovszky, (returned to the practice and techniques of his master and Cennini) or continued as a stained glass window designer and villa painter as Vince Hende, or became first a caricaturist, then a mural painter, finally a renowned aquarellist, as Antal Diósy.