How can the Feszty cyclorama be presented in both an up-to-date and authentic way in the 21st century?
MúzeumCafé 17.
Tamás Tokovics, managing director of the Ópusztaszer National Historical Memorial Park: From the very beginning the Memorial Park was more than a museum and better than a visitors’ centre. Today it is Hungary’s largest thematic park. The monumental cyclorama Arrival of the Hungarians by Árpád Feszty depicting the Hungarian conquest is exhibited in the rotunda situated in the heart of the 136-acre area. Up to the start of April 2010 nearly four million, mostly Hungarian visitors had seen the cyclorama. In the framework of tourism site development, the Memorial Park is receiving financial support from the EU and Csongrád County.
Loránd Bereczky, art historian: One of the board’s most important tasks has been to supervise the finances, since state support was given on condition that its resources were used solely for the work of restoration. A well-equipped workshop was set up where the restoration was undertaken. Parts of the cyclorama were given a new life and reassembled in situ, then painting of the necessary additions followed. Some see it as an item fit only for a fun-fair, while others regard it as a national treasure. Certainly, the role the Memorial Park plays in cultural life must be defined very carefully by understanding history and facts, and handling professional issues appropriately. Both in its details and as a whole the painting was created according to the rules of fine arts and at a high standard considering other European cycloramas.
Miklós Szentkirályi, restorer: There are already a number of positive results following restoration. The yellow industrial-park-style tubular barrier around the original platform has been replaced by a new design more in concert with the cyclorama. Visitors can now admire the excellently painted details from a short distance. From one vantage point you can more closely marvel at the scene depicting the shaman’s sacrificial offering with the rearing white steed , which is the most successful detail of its painter, Pál Vágó. Returning to the old viewing platform you can again see from the original distance the big cavalry charge, the numerous mounted warriors galloping through the Verecke Pass as they journeyed towards the west. This nearly fourty metre section represents the painting’s highest quality in terms of composition.
Lajos Velledits, painter-restorer: These days museums and galleries are madly trying to attract an ever increasing number of visitors. Yet if you are not familiar with the history of works to be restored or exhibited, and the artistic intent is not clear, you can only fall back on misconceptions. In lieu of the above, dilettantes can easily have a field day. Panorama painting was patented by the Scottish artist Robert Barker. The more Barker’s original idea about the illusionary unity suffered, the higher the rank of the spectacle rose – by the time the public were able to view the Feszty cyclorama it had already become an “invaluable national treasure”. The coup de grâce is the newly constructed “visitors’ way”. Today the completely misinterpreted work allows only for untruths and sentimental orations – plus, of course, the spectacle.