Cséri Lajos éremművészetéről (Budapest, 1993)

The revival of 20th century medal art in Hun­gary can be associated before all with the name of Béni Ferenczy, who from the twen­ties onwards, had created a lasting tradition in this artistic genre - a tradition that, as regards form, went back to antiquity, but con­ceptually it was based on the exuberant inven­tiveness of Ferenczy’'s mind. This tradition which by its nature never hindered either the unfolding of individual inspiration or that of progressive aspirations, is until today still traceable in Hungarian medal art and its followers can be recog­nized by their respect for their trade in the classicel sense of the word, by their sensibility as regards form shaping, and by the strong emotional bond to their themes. Lajos Cseri’s work is rooted in this tradition, and, apart from the characteristics mentioned above, it is distinguished by his subjective emotional affinity paired with a powerful portrayal of character that is reflected both in the choice of theme and in its representation. Likenesses of poets, artists, scholars, personalities of historical importance, the portraits of great names of culture and civilisation line up in a series of palm-sized reliefs, as if were the sculptor to present his reader’s diary or a series of essays written in his original tangible language to the public. And as if after having browsed to his hearf s content through the pages of an anthology of universal and Hungarian history, literature and art, he chooses those as models for his plaques whose fate, habitus and art had deeply impressed his imagination. Portrait as a genre takes in all branches offine arts a special sensibility of character for granted, something that enables the artist to reflect on the outer and inner features of the model. But in the case of Lajos Cséri, this reflection goes beyond the mere representation of a character, toward his own interpretation of the model’s personality, which attests his works with the seal of heartfelt experience. From his odler pieces, “ Van Gogh” is striking by its captivating expressive power. Ever since Béni Ferenczy’s Van Gogh-plaquette, this theme occasionally returns in the rich Hungarian medal art. The translation of the grand self-portraits and whirling landscapes of this ill-fated painter to a language of sculptural arts had traditionally posed to many a thrilling challenge of psychoanalytical abilities plus virtuoso shaping. On the plaque of Lajos Cséri, which was based on the famous “Self-portrait with cut ear”, we can observe an overwhelming expression of physical and mental pain. Further pieces of this sequence of portraits are characterized by the same fascination with the tragical mental state of the model, treated and intensified as a kind of physical attribute. This holds in particular for the medal of Baudelaire, based on the photograph by Nadar. The authentic lineaments served only as the essential proof to plastically conceive the ambiguous character of the poet; the enhancement of the bitter line at the corner of the mouth or the too deeply set eyes recreate the atmosphere of Baudelaire’s poems. One of his most succesfully done medals displays the great American writer Hemingway. Beyond the individual character, the artist succeeded virtuosicly in reflecting that particular collective feature, an adolescent expression conserved in a thirst for adventure, that was a common share of Herman Melville, Jack London, Ernest Hemingway and belongs perhaps to every American to some extent, both mentally and physiologically. In the past few years, Lajos Cséri has been continuing the creation of his medal portraits with an undiminished enthusiasm, disposition and care to show the greates figures of Hungarian history: Saint Stephen, Saint Ladislas, King Matthias Corjvinus. The opposing contrast of the medals cast after István Széchenyi and Lajos Kossuth proves that he sometimes works not only on the basis of earlier representations but evokes their literary background as well - these two epoch-creating giants of the reform era and the 1848-1849 war of independence tell about their characters and fates on the plaques with an expression of the meditating conscience and the resolution of deed. The world of music is present through a recently cast medal of Stravinsky, whereas that of science is re­presented by the portraits of Albert Einsten and Albert Szent- Györgyi. For the fifth centenary of the discovery of America, he modelled the likeness of Christophorus Columbus whose festive tranquility creates a historical atmosphere. In Lajos Cséri’s medal art there are no sudden changes of style. Apparently he can apply his early acquired expressive capacity, his harmonious plastic language based on secure artistic skills and free of distortions, to the solving of an unparalleled variety of problems. To the more thorough observer, however, it will soon become clear that this expressive power can find its abundant ways of manifesta­tion always in harmony with the unrivalled possibilities of com­position, the modes of sculpturalformation, the balanced or contras­ted, quiet or tormented shaping of surfaces, in short, with the very nature of his particular subject or topic. In this methodology, there is no place for the wanton play of forms or the superficial adaptation of quickly changing stylistic trends. On the other hand, no artist can escape the inspiration of the Ejeigteist, and in Cséri’s work one experiences a steady and linear development of style. Parting from the “modern classicism” of Béni Ferenczy’s school, he carries on this noble tradition toward expressivity. Budapest, 1993 GÉZA CSORBA ON THE MEDAL ART OF LAJOS CSÉRI

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