PUBLICLECTURE BY DANIEL BULATOV 

The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 stirred hope among many Western intellectuals, who saw in the idea of Communism a promise of a better world, a chance “to sweep away the incumbrances of injustice and tyranny and rapacity” (Bertrand Russel). This revolutionary fervour was particularly inspiring for Hungarian communists, who saw the establishment of the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919 as the beginning of world revolution.

Despite the defeat of the communist regime in Hungary, many leftist artists, including Béla Uitz, continued their quest for a revolutionary art form. A defining moment for this group of artists was their visit to Moscow in the summer of 1921 as delegates to the Third Comintern Congress.  Following their trip to Soviet Russia, Béla Uitz created two series titled “Analyses” – one inspired by Constructivism and the other by Orthodox icons. But what could be revolutionary about icons? And what motivated the artist to create this series? 

To answer these questions, one must delve into the broader context: on one hand, the perceptions of Russia and the Bolshevik Revolution by Western intellectuals at that time, and on the other hand, the artistic and political impulses that Uitz and his comrades received in Moscow. This is precisely what Daniel Bulatov’s lecture offers – along with the unveiling of his recent discovery of real icon prototypes behind some of the works in the “Icon Analyses” series.

DANIEL BULATOV is an art historian based in Leipzig and a PhD student at the University of Münster. His dissertation focuses on “Revolutionary Art in the West and Artistic Journeys to the USSR in the 1920s–1930s,” and his research is supported by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation (Germany). Previously, Daniel Bulatov worked as a researcher and curator at the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, where he participated in various international projects and collaborations.

Daniel Bulatov's lecture is also the closing event of our exhibition on Béla Uitz and the Russian Icon / Avant-garde.  
The exhibition is open until 9 June 2024.    

Admission ticket: 1500 HUF 
Registration: kassakmuzeum@pim.hu