János Vitéz

THE SERIES

My series is inspired by the narrative poem of the Hungarian poet Sándor Petőfi /1823-1849/.

Many of his poems are known to almost all Hungarians. His narrative poem János vitéz has been made into a play, a puppet show, a cartoon and a rock opera.

Every Hungarian knows this poem, it is already engraved in our spirit. In the old days, we had to memorise several verses of the poem at school, which of course felt like a burden at the time. But today it is still a joy to know parts of it, to have the characters and places come to life. I deliberately don’t watch filmed scenes, so that the characters and settings reflect my imagination.

The poem is structured around five pillars: the meeting and separation of Jancsi Kukorica and Iluska, Jancsi’s military service, when he is given the name of János the Brave, Iluska’s death, and finally Fairyland.

The poet sees everyone as essentially good, with the guilty receiving their just punishment and the virtuous the reward they deserve. Petőfi wrote the poem for the people – the common people – which is why folk tales became the model for the poem. I felt it was in keeping with my artistic vision, so I thought I’d start a series of 92 pieces. Since then I have interrupted the workflow several times and moved on to other subjects.