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Hungarian ethos and international modernism in the art of B'ela K'ad'ar (1877-1956)

Fisher, Melanie T.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1387379816

Abstract Details

1993, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, History of Art.

Under turbulent social conditions, Hungarian artists of the early twentieth century rose to champion humanitarian issues and proletarian revolution. Yet, Bela Kadar does not readily fit into the outspoken milieu of his contemporaries. He did not belong to the politically active artistic groups which dominated progressive trends in Budapest. Nor did he focus on the hardships of the oppressed or advance his art as an intellectual foundation for a new societal order. But Kadar's works represent an important and enduring dimension of twentieth-century Hungarian art. Through his resolutely modern approach to compositional design and stylistic handling, Kadar gives contemporary meaning to concepts grounded in his nation's creative traditions--myth, legend, the wondertale, peasant music, and lamentation practices.

Kadar's working methods embraced a remarkable scope of international trends, including Cubism, Orphism, Futurism, and Neo-Primitivism, as well as neoclassical imagery. In his perpetual blending of divergent sources, he repeatedly focused on themes involving life roles and life passages, particularly those pertaining to the male/female relationship, and to processes of emotional and spiritual discovery. The image of the horse was Kadar's most recurrent symbol, which he used both in specifically Hungarian contexts, and in contexts explored by the international avant-garde.

This study presents biographical material on Kadar that has previously rested in obscurity, and shows that through his unique synthesis of ancient, ethnic, and modern expressional forms, Kadar contributed vitally to the sphere of both Hungarian and international artistic achievement.

Myroslava M. Ciszkewycz (Advisor)
293 p.
Art History; Biographies; History

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Fisher, M. T. (1993). Hungarian ethos and international modernism in the art of B'ela K'ad'ar (1877-1956) [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1387379816

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Fisher, Melanie. Hungarian ethos and international modernism in the art of B'ela K'ad'ar (1877-1956). 1993. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1387379816.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Fisher, Melanie. "Hungarian ethos and international modernism in the art of B'ela K'ad'ar (1877-1956)." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 1993. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1387379816

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1387379816
186
© 1993, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.