5-6 October 2024 (Saturday-Sunday)

The two-day Szőnyi Weekend was a fitting end to the quadrennial year with a series of events.

On Saturday, October 5, we remembered Zsuzsa Szőnyi, daughter of István Szőnyi and Melinda Bartóky, who was born a hundred years ago and died ten years ago. After a toast by Mayor Ervin Ferenczy Ernő Ferenczy, the commemoration began with a moving message from Rome by the editor-in-chief of Vatican Radio, Jesuit pastor László Vértesaljai, followed by Viktória Somogyi, a staff member of Vatican Radio, who spoke about her personal memories and her relationship with Zsuzsa, who lived in Rome for almost 50 years and worked for the radio from the age of 65 to 80.

Zsuzsa Szőnyi and her husband Mátyás Triznya left Hungary in 1949 and settled in Rome. For decades, they hosted the best of Hungarian cultural and artistic life in their home, in their literary salon known as Triznya's Tavern. Sándor Márai, János Pilinszky, Ferenc Fejtő, Magda Szabó, Péter Esterházy, Ferenc Mádl, Viktor Orbán, Asztrik Várszegi, Ferenc Juhász, Ferenc Szabó, Cs. László Szabó, László Szörényi, Miklós Hubay, Zoltán Kallós, Sándor Csoóri and many others. Many of the guests and friends who have visited the tavern over the past half century have come to remember Zsuzsa Szőnyi, the fairy from Aventino, together. Among those remembering were the actors Anna Kubik, Anna Nagy and Kata Huszárik, Miklós Beer, retired Bishop of Vác, Father Imre László Német, graphic designer György Szokoly, literary historians Zoltán Hafner and Judit Róna, Barna Kabay and Katalin Petényi, the makers of the portrait film Miracle in Milan and Rome, and Péter Muszatics, director of the portrait film The Fairy of Aventine. The films about Zsuzsa Szőnyi were screened during the commemoration. László Simon, the former director of the Pest County Museums Directorate, and his successor, Márton Kálnoky-Gyöngyössy, who also chaired the discussion, were present and participated in the afternoon round table discussion. In addition to Viktória Somogyi, Rózsa Köpöczi and Zsuzsa Klemmné Németh, former directors of the István Szőnyi Memorial Museum, gave a presentation at the Memorial Day. In the afternoon, we walked with the commemorators to the cemetery, where we laid wreaths and flowers on the grave of Zsuzsa Szőnyi, and the day ended with a mass celebrated by Bishop Miklós Beer in the Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Snow in memory of Zsuzsa Szőnyi.

On Sunday 6 October, the second day of the Szőnyi Weekend, we commemorated the centenary of István Szőnyi's arrival in Zebegény. The programmes, which started in the afternoon, focused on the presentation of eight Szőnyi paintings recently received from the Museum of Fine Arts - Hungarian National Gallery. Blanka Blahó opened the events with a flute performance, followed by a guided tour by Iván Kamarás, an actor, of one of the newly exhibited works, Szőnyi's self-portrait, Hegytetőn (On the Mountain Roof). After a brief biographical summary, he presented the emblematic work, which won first prize at the 1925 Nude exhibition at the Kunsthalle in Budapest, with his own thoughts, personal connections and stories, and with parallels to his fellow artists, in front of the painting in the upstairs studio. The visitors, who persevered despite the cool weather, were then treated to a guided tour by 11-year-old Miksa Szücs. The young museum lover spoke of his own observations, thoughts and feelings as he toured the museum, inspired by the cosy rooms of the Memorial House and some of the painter's works of art that were particularly dear to him. We learned how Miksa and his family would sit on the sofa in the Szőnyis' former bedroom, watching TV together by the warmth of the tiled stove, why he loves the "cute" cows in Szőnyi's paintings so much, and why the painter's unique technique makes the picture of the village "move" even though there is not a single person in it.

The series of unusual image analyses was concluded by a witty and quiz-filled presentation by Tamás Solymos, psychologist and consultant in the field of visual expression psychology, who introduced us to a relatively new discipline. It turned out that Szőnyi was a "perfectly fine", well-balanced, humane, brave man who was in control of his emotions. His works are essentially serene and harmonious, the work of an artist who was reserved and somewhat repressed in his emotions. Szőnyi felt at home in Zebegény, and the idyllic environment he created around himself was conveyed through his lyrical, complexly composed works of art, which had a unique atmosphere and mood.

On Sunday, creative activities continued throughout the programme. We could paint portraits of each other and imagine ourselves in a landscape or environment that was ideal for us, based on the available, well-known works of art. During the two-day event, the guests could taste a lot of delicacies, courtesy of the municipality and the kitchen of the Sunflower Nursery School in Zebegény, which helped to alleviate the discomfort caused by the cold weather. We thank them and all the speakers, participants and guests for joining us in remembering István and Zsuzsa Szőnyi and what Zebegény meant to them.