itra Gallery’s collection includes a work by an important broker/mediator of cultural relationships Lajos Luzsicza...

Inventory No.: O – 296
Artists: Lajos Luzsicza
Title: Danube at Zebegény
Dating: 1951 – 1960
Technique: oil
Material: fibreboard
Dimensions: height 75 cm; width 122 cm
Signature: bottom right Luzsicza L.

Nitra Gallery’s collection includes a work by an important broker/mediator of cultural relationships Lajos Luzsicza. The oil painting is a representative modernist portrayal of a small Hungarian village called Zebegény. Luzsicza depicts the landscape surrounding the river Danube. The stylised shortcut showcases dark curvy hills with a silhouette of village houses and a church situated in their valley. The composition is opened up by the river Danube. The predominant colour is blue, followed by various grey and brown, green and yellow tones.

Lajos Luszicza: (February 13, 1920 Nové Zámky – November 30, 2006 Budapest)
He studied in his home town until the high school graduation (1932 – 1940, the Peter Pázmaň Secondary Grammar School) while his early artistic endeavours were supported by one of his teachers, János Thain (a folklorist, collector, museum founder). From 1940 to 1947, he studied at the Hungarian University of Arts and Design in Budapest under Vilmos Aba-Novák, Béla Kontuly and János Kmetty. In 1944, he spent a year in American captivity in France when he was captured as a soldier. After the war, from 1947 to 1950, he taught drawing in Tatabánya where he founded and led an independent art school called Miner. From 1950 to 1960, he was active on various artistic fronts. He worked for the Hungarian Ministry of Enlightenment, he was also a lecturer at the University of Education in Budapest. Later, he was made the director of the Műcsarnok Gallery in Budapest. Afterward, he worked as a freelance artist. From 1961 to 1977, he was the secretary of the Association of Hungarian Artists and Craftsmen. He went on study trips to various European countries. He was an active mediator and kept in touch with Slovak artists (e.g. M. A. Bazovský, J Alexy), organised various exhibitions abroad (Switzerland, Italy, France, Germany, Czechoslovakia). He also organised several exhibitions  in Nové Zámky. He co-founded the Gallery of Contemporary Hungarian Artists in Dunajská Streda. He spent his whole life pursuing cultural connections between Slovakia and Hungary.

Ľudmila Kasaj Poláčková
September 2020

Sources:
MARKUSKOVÁ, HELENA. Lajos Luszicza – Caricatures. Nové Zámky : GUEZNZ, 2010.
FABIÁN, GYULA – KLOBUČNÍKOVÁ, MAGDALÉNA – STILLER, NIKLAS. Lajos Luszicza. Nové Zámky : GUEZNZ, 1995.