2023-04-17 20:00:00
Does the love of the city still burn in the hearts of the people of Szeged to such an extent that they financially support the repayment of a 91-year-old debt? This is the main question of the effectiveness of the call launched by the city’s art patrons, in connection with which a public forum was organized on Monday, moderated by the retired public worker Ernő Kiss, in the In the Somogyi library.
A debt, because the creator of the sculptures of Ferenc Móra, István Tömörkeny, József Katona and Ferenc Erkel, the “chronicler with a hammer” of the city, was promised several times during his life to realize his artwork Hálóvető commemorating the Tisza fishermen. However, the word got out every time.
The call for donations is far from unprecedented and without results in the history of Szeged, we only have to jump back about a hundred years in its past. Art historian Ferenc Apró told the forum that the city’s most patinated public works, the statues of Kossuth, Széchenyi, Deák, Lajos Tisza and Pista Dankó, were also created by public donations in the past. The Szegedi Napló magazine published the names of those who donated and the amount of their contribution every week.
– This was a social event in Szeged. They agreed with him that if he gave that much, I will also give, because I don’t want to be left behind – said Ferenc Apró, and then he quoted from an article by István Tömörkeny, in which he described the details of the collection of the Kossuth statue. It turned out that not only the city lords, but also industrialists and masons’ children, and even “farmers from distant wastelands” paid tribute to the statue, “as if they were giving it to some altar”.
The creation of the statue was undertaken by sculptor Pál Farkas, a former student of Antal Tápai. As he put it, he is called by his duty of respect towards his former master. Donations are expected to the bank account number 10402805-28021452-00000000 of the Antal Tápai Foundation. In the comment section of the reference, please write: Net thrower.
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