SECESSION: LITERATURE, ART AND MODE OF EXISTENCE On Ferenc Herczeg’s travelogue and ship log Szelek szárnyán

Abstract

In the oeuvre of Ferenc Herczeg, “the lord of writers”, a special place is taken by Szelek szárnyán (1905), a travelogue/ship log, i.e. the breviary of the Adriatic. It is a literary/visual artistic album which was conceived entirely in the spirit of Secession, not only in the visual sense but also as a worldview and experience presupposing a Secessionist conduct. This means, on the one hand, a withdrawal from the given society, while on the other it assumes a decadent attitude of indulging in the joys of life. In this work, published in several editions, we can see Herczeg’s adoration of the Adriatic, the narrative of his Mediterranean experience and his Secessionist prose, which, owing to the contribution of fourteen prominent painters combines Secessionist drawings, raise this volume to the pedestal of outstanding works of Secessionist Hungarian book art. The study attempts to give a new glow to this almost completely forgotten pearl of Herczeg’s oeuvre, and to (re-)evaluate and interpret it from the perspective of the 21st century Hungarian literature, removing from it (and from Herczeg’s literary opus) the misconceptions and attributes which have been attached to his literary work up until recently.