It’s good if an exhibition attracts many visitors
Portrait of art historian Géza Jászai
MúzeumCafé 21.
Géza Jászai left Hungary in November 1956 and became an art historian in what was then West Germany. Over the years he has worked for several museums, organised large exhibitions and been a university lecturer. The director of Münster’s Dom Museum until 2000, today he lives in Berlin where he continues to do research. Last autumn saw his return to Hungary for the second time only since 1956, but the reason has not been due to either politics or fear – he simply didn’t have the time. His recent visit was official. He participated in a round-table discussion organised by the Art History Institute of ELTE University, visited several museums and met many colleagues. He admits that if he had known his programme would be so full he would have stayed longer in Hungary; however, he did have time to speak to MuzeumCafé. Despite it possibly being no longer easy for him to give an interview in Hungarian, it was clear that he was prepared and he spoke about his life and career in such a manner that questions were hardly needed. “Concerning my professional work I’d like to mention two projects of mine which had a Hungarian connection. My Critical Notes on Csontváry was published in Hungarian in Munich in 1965. Csontváry’s romantic approach makes it clear that his art and adoration of nature are not related to his contemporary artists but rather to German painters such as Caspar David Friedrich or Carl Rottmann. In my other Hungary-related work I researched the artists who had studied at Munich’s Academy of Fine Arts. As a result of the Münster exhibition’s success I was invited to Trier and then Limburg. Sometimes I didn’t know where I was, but everywhere I have asked only for two things – unlimited freedom and complete trust. And it was worth it – the public likes the museum!”