István Csók - Hay Gatherers

5/8/2019

István Csók (1865 - 1961) was a Hungarian realist/impressionist painter who achieved a degree of recognition in the West in the early to mid-twentieth century. Though his art is still celebrated in Hungary, his presence has all but faded in the West.

Csók is not among my favorite Hungarian painters. Nonetheless, his Hay Gatherers (1890) is certainly one of my favorite Hungarian paintings. Having revealed that, I must admit that I can't put my finger on why I like this painting so much.

Perhaps it is the muted colors, or the expression on the girl's face, or that her gaze falls directly on the viewer, or the idyllic rural landscape that resembles the area in which I live now. Whatever it is, this painting speaks to me of goodness, simplicity, and beauty.

7 Comments

David Stollar

5/10/2019 04:37:50

Dear Francis,
I agree with what you say about this painting standing out among Csok’s oevre. It is an early work for him and perhaps represents a time in his youth, aged about 25, just before he took some kind of wrong turning. Had he come from an innocent rural background to study art in the city and been gradually corrupted by urban values? Or was he at the time part of some artistic movement which looked towards peasant goodness, perhaps under the influence of painters like Millet? I can’t say because I had never even heard of Csok before I read your post.
What I can say, however, looking at the painting, as to why like you I find it so attractive, is the way all the lines of perspective lead back to the little white church on the horizon. Reversing that movement, there is the sense that everything in the landscape is held within the benign influence of that church and all it stands for. These people, though they may not consciously appreciate it, are embraced in the Church’s care and guidance. Their lives are governed by and find meaning in the values preserved in the church and the culture emanating therefrom.
One only has to look around to see what happens to a society that has abandoned Christianity (yes, I know, with all its faults and its own corruptions); or, putting it differently, what is happening now that those who should be acting as the guardians of our culture have discarded and lost connection with that ancient key to life’s true meaning.

Francis Berger

5/10/2019 07:26:35

Thank you for this great comment, David.

Csók spent time in Paris, so that may have played a part in the wrong turn you mention. I really like your observation regarding the lines of perspective drawing back to the little church; I feel you are definitely on to something there.

I live in the northwestern part of Hungary; even the smallest village here has a church as its nucleus around which the houses cluster. When I walk or drive around the countryside, I can see the phenomenon you describe when I see the church steeples in the distance. This is all reinforced by the various stone crucifixes and other Christian statuary that can be found on the fields next to the roadways. Christianity was such an integral part of culture her e in the nineteenth century. It has faded considerably since then.

Organized Christianity is increasingly corrupt, but this does not mean Christianity itself is corrupt. Quite the contrary. And I agree with you - we need a return to Christianity, both individually and as a society.

Incidentally, I am more or less a Luddite when it comes to art, but I like to post Hungarian paintings every now and then in the hope it might pique the interest of those living in the Anglo West.

David Stollar

5/10/2019 17:11:23

Incidentally, on further perusal I notice that the church in the distance and the girl's face that you mention line up exactly. This is so exact that I doubt it is just by chance

Francis Berger

5/10/2019 19:50:37

David - You, sir, have an excellent eye! I hadn't considered that at all.

David Stollar

5/10/2019 21:55:33

Well, Francis, as you seem to go along with my idea, the next step is to ask what it signifies, what is the painting saying when it lines up like this?
Here are a few random, rambling thoughts triggered by looking at the painting. By the way, I am in no way saying that this is what the painter was necessarily thinking at a conscious level at the time– art can allow the emergence of aspects of our being deeper than our surface thoughts.
The church on the horizon signifies the preservation and carrying forward through the ages of the Code, the ancient, timeless understanding proper to humankind and which we need in order to develop and unfold as potentially divine beings.
Moving now to the beautiful girl and the soul we somehow sense expressed in her face; here we see that abstract (even in a certain way dead) knowledge preserved by the church coming to life in a human being, to be kindled and protected like a flame, perhaps somewhat faint and flickering.
Another way of putting this is that if we can connect with that timeless knowledge, bring it to life within us and struggle to hold on to it, attempting to live it out and to live by it, day by day, like nurturing a secret flame, we may thus begin the journey towards our potential Divinity.

Francis Berger

5/10/2019 22:18:11

@ David - You have inspired me to research the painting a little using Hungarian sources. I can read Magyar - perhaps I can find some useful information.

In the meantime, I like your interpretation very much. And I am inclined to your view concerning the creation of art (deeper than conscious thought) - which helps explain why artists often struggle to fully articulate the meaning in their own work.

David Stollar

5/10/2019 23:05:44

Another thing I’ve noticed about the painting – each of the three figures are ‘lost’ in their own private world. There is no communication between them whatever. Strange.

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István Csók - Hay Gatherers

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