Changes in the role of the landscape in Károly Patkó’s paintings

Abstract

Representational painting does not renounce the reference systems of the visible world, but applies them in accordance with the expectations and technical possibilities of a given era for the sake of artistic expression. Landscape motifs and painterly abstraction are in harmony with the visual and structural role of the elements, as well as with the personality of the artist. These are inseparable in the case of a significant artist. Landscape painting has included numerous stylistic and thematic possibilities throughout the history of painting, and that remains true today. In modern painting, changes accelerated from the end of the 19th century, which also influenced Hungarian painters. A segment of these changes, spanning roughly a decade, can be traced in the oeuvre of Károly Patkó, one of the outstanding figures of 20th-century modern Hungarian painting. In Patkó’s painting, the representation of landscape can be divided into three roles in terms of content, which show marked differences in both spatial formation
and technique, but which follow organically from one another in chronological order in his oeuvre. Along with the changing roles, the drawing solutions and colour harmony systems of the paintings also differ. All of these are accompanied by technical changes, which have an impact on both style and content. Influenced by his several-year-long stay in Italy, Patkó switched from classical oil painting to tempera painting. The combined result is a relaxed tone and monumental space and landscape representation, which can be considered unique in modern Hungarian art.