The message of the cover image of our auction catalog...
While strolling through the Galleries and Auction exhibitions, the question arises involuntarily in us: what do we really see...?
There are promenading figures, still lifes, charming landscapes, emotions, or merely the portraits that photographically present the realities of life, lined up before us according to countless different themes, which artists have managed or failed to capture on canvas.
We are now arbitrarily preparing for the FÖLDVÁRY AUCTION exhibition taking place in ÖTTEVÉNY on October 26, 2026 - it is no coincidence that we are contemplating the cover image of the auction catalog, trying to decipher the fundamental question of art:
Why is this painting presented to us beautiful?
Of course, our answer could start trivially: All women are beautiful... and worthy of discovery, for by the will of the creator, THEY are the bearers of life.
Naturally, I can already hear the downpour of counterarguments about whose hair colors, sparkling or veiled glances are more attractive, not to mention the youthful softness of facial features...
When an artist paints, they usually act under the influence of inspirations, as they want to convey to us viewers at least two things:
On one hand, they showcase their mastery, stating that look, I handle the brush in a virtuoso manner, the impressions of which I leave as a legacy on my canvases.
On the other hand, they wish to share the experiences that inspired their creations with us viewers. This is no different in the case of the selected work, the oil painting titled AFTER THE BALL.
The elegantly dressed lady, who turns to us halfway from the canvas, radiates the joyful memories of a recently experienced ball. One can almost read in her gaze the carefree experience of the recently concluded ball atmosphere.
From the camaraderie of social life, the lightness of the ballroom's to-and-fro, and the archetypal happiness of shared dances with admirers lined up in the dance card radiates, and perhaps even the sounds of the dance music filling the ballroom echo toward us...
This portrait conveys the experience of the elegantly dressed lady returning from the ball, revealing to us without cover the carefree secrets of the recently concluded ball festivities.
The pose in which the elegantly dressed lady with noble features is presented is somewhat suggestive. Thus, the complete portrait that was not created face-to-face discreetly keeps many of this image’s secrets hidden. In presenting the painted moment, much can be read, yet it remains elegantly intimate. It does not allow the secrets belonging to the lady visible in the image to be fully uncovered, yet we are part of her carefree fresh ball memories. Let's admit, there have been balls in our lives, and who can remember the first, or any of the subsequent ones without indelibly marking their life. Here lies one common point of connection between the image and the viewer: Yes, we were also at the ball... and our lives hold similar secrets, just as Rezső Rakssányi, the painter, skillfully painted on this lady's portrait. This shared experience and the color harmony of the master's canvas answer the question of why this painting is - Why is it beautiful?
I trust that our readers will accept our reasoning for having chosen this image as the message of our catalog cover, believing that “LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL” and this painting conveys to us this sense of life, the discovery of which is now up to our viewers, following the experience of the painting after the ball.
Károly Ács Érmes
curator