Bory Jenő’s bust of Toldy Ferenc forms part of the National Memorial Hall in Dóm tér, Szeged. The work commemorates the scholar who played a defining role in establishing Hungarian literary history, literary criticism and the institutions of scholarly life.
The statue was made in 1930 and placed in the eastern arcade of Dóm tér. In the same year, Bory Jenő also created portraits of Mihály Horváth and László Szalay, which, together with this work, present outstanding figures of Hungarian intellectual life in the pantheon.
Toldy Ferenc (1805–1875) – born Ferenc Schedel – was a literary historian, critic and university professor; a member and secretary of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences; and vice-president of the Kisfaludy Society. His work was fundamental to the scholarly establishment of Hungarian literary history, and he is therefore often mentioned as one of the creators of Hungarian literary historiography. Throughout his life, Toldy served the cause of Hungarian language and literature. He took a significant part in uncovering, systematising and assessing the national literary tradition. Through his work as a critic and organiser of scholarship, he contributed to Hungarian literature becoming an independent field of scholarly inquiry.
Bory Jenő’s portrait depicts the elderly scholar. The quiet dignity of the bust and the carefully modelled facial features emphasise the scholar’s contemplative character and intellectual authority. Its restrained treatment suits well the solemn atmosphere of the Memorial Hall in Dóm tér. The portrait of Toldy Ferenc pays tribute not only to an outstanding scholar, but also commemorates the generation of the Reform Era and the period of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise which played a defining role in building Hungary’s modern scholarly and cultural institutions. The statue preserves for posterity one of the founding figures of Hungarian literary scholarship.