Lázár: Action Over Munkácsy In Hungarian National Interest
- 12 Jun 2015 9:00 AM
Whereas it was “not the most sportsmanlike” to decree that Munkácsy’s Golgotha privately owned painting should be placed on a national list of protected artwork that cannot be taken out of the country, doing so was in the national interest, the government office chief said. János Lázár told a regular government news conference that museum professionals were in complete agreement that the painting owned by Imre Pákh, who has lent the prized work to a museum in the city of Debrecen, should be protected to ensure that it stays in Hungary.
Many years will pass before a judgement on the matter is reached in international courts, he said.
“We would have preferred to have convinced Mr. Pákh, with this friendly step, that it is in any event worthwhile coming to an agreement with the Hungarian state,” Lázár said, adding that “we will not allow ourselves to be blackmailed.”
The Hungarian state will not accept paying over the international odds for the work, he declared.
The Hungarian-born American collector said he would have “Golgotha” removed from the Déri Museum in Debrecen because talks on the possible sale of the work to the state have fallen through.
The painting is one of eminent 19thcentury painter Mihály Munkácsy’s famous “Christ Trilogy”.
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