Description
The bronze mini-statue depicts Csontváry himself in his characteristic long cloak and hat, with a serious, expressive face. The twist in the artwork is the tool in his hand: instead of a traditional brush and palette, he holds a modern graffiti spray can, as if he were currently "creating" on the stone wall of the bridge.
Story
Tivadar Csontváry Kosztka visited the Hortobágy in 1903, where he painted one of his most famous, dramatic landscapes, Storm on the Hortobágy. Mihály Kolodko commemorated this very visit and the birth of the painting. The statue was fittingly "unveiled" on social media on July 5, 2023, Csontváry’s birthday (born July 5, 1853), paying tribute to one of the greatest geniuses of Hungarian painting.
Fun facts
- • The twin statue: The artwork on the Hortobágy has a twin. Kolodko placed almost the exact same Csontváry figure in Munich as well (on the edge of a staircase in a park next to Prinzregentenstraße). This is because Csontváry studied painting under Simon Hollósy in Munich during his studies abroad.
- • The perspective: Kolodko positioned the statue on the riverbank from the exact angle and position that Csontváry would have seen the bridge in reality when sketching his painting Storm on the Hortobágy.
- • Meeting of guerrilla arts: In his own time, Csontváry was considered an outsider and eccentric, much like modern graffiti artists or guerrilla sculpting itself was viewed for a long time.
