The painter István Szőnyi was born one hundred and thirty years ago, and lived most of his life in Zebegény. The people of Zebegény remember with great respect István Szőnyi, who loved nature and the people of Zebegény, and whose residence now serves as a museum.
On the anniversary of the painter’s birth, on January 17, the Municipality of Zebegény, the Szőnyi István Foundation and the Szőnyi István Memorial Museum held a festive commemoration.
At the grave of István Szőnyi in the Zebegény cemetery, Deputy Mayor Ernő Ferenczy remembered the painter. In his speech, he emphasized that the development of Zebegény began in the 1900s, to which the people – including István Szőnyi – contributed to the development of the village. “In the first half of the century, our predecessors witnessed such a bubbly, high-spirited holiday life that cannot be repeated,” emphasized the deputy mayor.
“If we were to set milestones in the history of Zebegény, then one of the significant milestones should be set for this era, the period between 1910-26. The formation of Zebegény’s image and the foundation of his future vision can be seen here. Károly Kós and his fellow artists appeared in connection with the construction of the new church, and then István Szőnyi and the artist colony he established sealed Zebegény’s fate in a good sense.
In 1924, István Szőnyi married Melinda Bartóky, the younger daughter of József Bartóky, the owner of the holiday home in Zebegény, and the state secretary for agriculture, and soon after they moved to Zebegény.
István Szőnyi’s so-called ‘Zebegény hermitage’ was solved by the artists who spent long summers here and created, such as Jenő Elekfy, Jenő Medveczky, Elemér Vass, Imre Szobotka, Róbert Berény, Vilmos Aba Novák, Aurél Bernáth.
This is what István Szőnyi wrote about it: “I saw the connected and inseparable unity of landscape and man in Zebegény, in an environment that very much suited my ideas. The subject of my pictures are these two things in the world, to which I am attached by the strongest threads: Zebegény and my family…” Ervin Ferenczy quoted Ernő Ferenczy in his speech.
The commemoration continued in the István Szőnyi Memorial Museum, where the painter’s world was revealed in the framework of an interactive animation exhibition, then his painting “The Spring Danube Bend” was presented and a film about the painter’s work was shown. Péter Komáromi, grandson of István Szőnyi, was also present at the event.
Dankó Dalma, museum director, art historian, museologist, gave a greeting at the museum commemoration and, like the deputy mayor, praised the painter’s life. Painter Zsuzsa Klemmné Németh, former head of the Szőnyi István Memorial Museum, president of the board of trustees of the Szőnyi István Foundation, gave a speech. The pupils of István Szőnyi Primary School in Zebegény participated.
(Fischer)
