In the funerary monument of Bitter Illés, Bory Jenő did not preserve the deceased’s portrait, but commemorated the work of the Cistercian monk, teacher and community organiser through the figure of Saint Emeric.
- Kerepesi Cemetery, Plot 34-1-41, Budapest; marble statue, 137 cm; limestone pedestal, 145 cm
- Lower garden of Bory Castle; quartz concrete, 130 cm
Bitter Illés (1868–1939) was a Cistercian monk, teacher, headmaster and Abbot of Clairvaux. He organised the Foederatio Emericana, the fraternal association of Catholic university students, and was also a founding member of the Catholic Teachers’ Association.
His funerary monument in Kerepesi úti Cemetery was made by Bory Jenő and unveiled at the end of September 1942. The memorial’s central element is a 137 cm-high statue of Saint Emeric carved from Carrara white marble, standing on a limestone pedestal 145 cm high. The work is signed: “Bory Jenő 1942”.
The statue depicts Prince Saint Emeric, whose figure embodies the ideals of Christian purity, moral example and education. With this symbolic solution, Bory sought to evoke not the deceased’s features but the spiritual substance of his life and vocation. The composition fits well among the artist’s symbolic funerary monuments, in which remembrance is often realised through allegorical or religious motifs.
It is noteworthy that a 130 cm-high quartz-concrete version of the statue can also be seen in the grounds of Bory Castle in Székesfehérvár, making the work an important memorial not only in funerary art but also within Bory’s oeuvre. The funerary monument is also listed in the register of protected graves.