At the outset of his career, András Szunyoghy’s work was characterised, on the one hand, by a general orientation towards the fine arts – painting and graphic art – and, on the other, from the early 1980s onwards, by an increasingly determined focus on the study of human and animal anatomy. A third defining aspect of his professional activity was his intensive engagement in teaching drawing and art education. His 1988 exhibition at the Vigadó Gallery was based on his anatomical drawings of animals. The exhibition was opened by the Kossuth Prize-winning sculptor József Somogyi, who had just completed his term as Rector of the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts and remained an active lecturer there, and was also widely known as a passionate lover of animals. Somogyi held the young artist’s achievement in exceptionally high regard, drawing parallels between his work and that of Leonardo da Vinci. In connection with the exhibition, Hungarian Television produced the final episode of the programme Tv-Galéria, edited and presented by Zsuzsa D. Fehér.
At the same time, András Szunyoghy regarded teaching drawing as his vocation. This commitment was recognised by the painter György Szemadám, who, in the mid-1990s, was working as an editor at Hungarian Television and commissioned Szunyoghy to produce a ten-part television series on the teaching of drawing. The series, entitled Rajzolni jó (Drawing Is Good), was completed and successfully broadcast, although – in a manner all too familiar in Hungary – the tenth episode was never filmed. According to available information, Hungarian Television did not archive the series.
Decisive and lifelong support for the development of his animal anatomical drawing was provided by Dr György Fehér, then Head of the Department of Anatomy at the University of Veterinary Medicine, an outstanding and widely respected specialist in his field. He later became Szunyoghy’s regular co-author.
Preparation for this work required extraordinarily intensive drawing practice, based on animals that had been previously prepared and preserved in chloroform. Szunyoghy’s work was greatly assisted by Dr Zoltán Gráf and Dr László Horváth, veterinarians at the zoo, who informed him whenever an animal died, enabling in-depth and concentrated drawing sessions. In this way, through the investigation of form and the study of musculature and bodily structure, he was able to depict lions, bears, black panthers, giraffes, deer and camels, and also to gain access to horses, dogs and cats. The anatomical dissection room of the University of Veterinary Medicine served as the primary location for this work.
It ultimately took six years to complete the first volume, which covers the anatomy of nine animals: the horse, cattle, pig, dog, sheep, camel, bear, deer and lion. The selection was influenced by the fact that these animals are among the most frequently depicted in works of fine art. In accordance with this decision, Corvina Publishing published the volume A ló művészeti anatómiája (lit. The Artistic Anatomy of the Horse).
This was followed by Anatómiai rajziskola (lit. Anatomical Drawing School), which presents, alongside human anatomy, the anatomy of eleven animals: the horse, dog, cat, pig, monkey, sheep, bear, deer, cattle, camel and lion. As no publisher could be found in Hungary, the book was eventually published in Germany by Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, in German, under the title Anatomische Zeichenschule – Mensch, Tier, Vergleichende Anatomie in Cologne in 1996. The monumental volume, running to nearly 600 pages, featured texts by György Fehér.
The publication was managed by Kulturtrade (Budapest) under the direction of Magda Molnár; the artistic director was Peter Feierabend, and the book was printed to an exceptionally high standard in Budapest by the Kossuth Printing House.
In its promotional text, the German publisher recommended the volume as follows:
“Artists have studied anatomy for centuries – the science of the structure of the human and animal body. In drawing, painting and sculpture, anatomical knowledge of the human and animal figure and of movement forms the essential foundation.
Anatomical Drawing School presents more than 1,200 highly detailed drawings by András Szunyoghy, a master of his profession, offering profound insight into the structure of the human body and selected mammals. The precise depiction of skeletons and musculature enables an understanding of bodily structure and the organs of movement, which is the fundamental prerequisite for depicting the body. Professor György Fehér explains each illustration in detail and with clarity. Through his introductions and explanations, the drawn images of nature come alive. Anatomical Drawing School unites artistic representation with scientific knowledge, making it a fundamental work for artists, drawing students, and all those with a passion for anatomy.”
In the introduction, the book also presents its two authors, providing the following information about György Fehér: “Professor Dr György Fehér (born 1928) conducted research and taught at the Institute of Anatomy and Histology of the University of Veterinary Medicine in Budapest from 1969 to 1987. His field of expertise is comparative anatomy and the evolution of the animal kingdom, to which he dedicated his life, with particular emphasis on functional and applied anatomy. For many years, he served as Vice-President of the World Association of Veterinary Anatomists and the European Association of Veterinary Anatomists. […] Through more than twenty scientific publications, he became internationally recognised as an author.”
This work became perhaps András Szunyoghy’s most successful book; it was translated into twenty-one languages, though not into Hungarian. Subsequently, another book on human anatomy was produced in cooperation with the German publisher.
At the turn of the millennium, Könemann Publisher went bankrupt. The artist then established a working relationship with the Hungarian Kossuth Publisher, particularly with its director, András Sándor Kocsis, who proved to be a reliable partner. The Artistic Anatomy of the Horse was reissued, with the artist producing several new drawings. This was followed by Rajz ABC (lit. Drawing ABC), a book on drawing instruction in which he distilled all his accumulated knowledge, not only from his studies at the Academy but also from what he had learned from his father and grandfather. Among his books published in Hungary, this proved to be the most successful.
This was followed by A madarak anatómiája (lit. The Anatomy of Birds), published by Kossuth Publisher, for which significant assistance was provided by Miklós Persányi, Director General of the zoo, who issued a directive ensuring that the institution’s veterinarians would grant the artist access to deceased birds.
After the bird anatomy volume, the author published a work devoted to drawing heads and hands, for which the author also conducted substantial art-historical research, focusing on figures such as Dürer and Leonardo.
A subsequent major work was Nagy Rajziskola (lit. The Great Drawing School), in which he condensed everything he had learned and practised throughout his life: perspective, geometric construction, portraiture, the nude, drapery, landscape, animal, and cityscape drawing, as well as botanical and zoological illustration. According to his intention, this volume contains everything that presented a professional challenge during his career. The book was again published by Kossuth Publisher and Ullmann Publisher, which immediately released it in six languages and – crucially – in large print runs.
The next publication focused on portrait drawing and was published with both Kossuth and Ullmann, while the most recent project is a volume devoted to drawing the nude. In the meantime, a book for younger readers entitled Hogyan rajzoljunk lovat? (lit. How to Draw a Horse?) has been published, and a further volume, Rajzoljunk állatokat (lit. Let’s Draw Animals), is in preparation.
Ullmann Publisher acquired the rights from the now-defunct Könemann Publisher and reissued András Szunyoghy’s books in new languages and new translations. His volumes have reached, among other places, Japan, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, and Algeria.
An exhibiting artist since 1970, Szunyoghy held his first solo exhibition that year in Újpest at the Mini Gallery. This was followed by numerous solo exhibitions in Hungary and abroad, as well as participation in many group exhibitions, including those of the Studio of Young Artists between 1975 and 1985, and Feketén, fehéren (lit. In Black and White) at the Kunsthalle in 2001.
His professional and ethical stance is exemplified by his intervention upon learning of the closure of the Hungarian Defence Forces’ lithographic printing workshop, which helped preserve the lithographic stones. Some of these later formed the lithographic stone base of the Vác National Graphic Workshop, which remains active to this day, while several large stones were also transferred to the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts.
His extraordinarily extensive work in drawing instruction and in human and animal anatomy has so far resulted in fourteen books in these fields. His books are available on every continent, and several of his works have been translated into twenty-one languages.
The defining characteristics of András Szunyoghy’s artistic career include exceptional mastery and application of graphic techniques, an individual artistic vision, an intensified interest in human and animal anatomy, sustained research, and the writing and illustrating of books that fulfil both scientific and educational functions. His graphic work encompasses both pictorial and applied graphic design. His passionate pedagogical activity extends across multiple levels, within and beyond the state education system. In addition to the above, his teaching at the István Szőnyi Free School in Zebegény and within specialist programmes operated under the auspices of the Ministry of Defence is also significant. He has played an important role as an organiser of artistic life in his place of residence, Újpest.
[2015]