Friendship of Peoples. Africa as a Theme of Solidarity in Socialist Hungarian Art—The Works of Gyula Hincz

Abstract

This article presents a case study of the prominent socialist modernist Hungarian artist Gyula Hincz (1904–1986) and his lesser-known series of works from the 1960s, known as the Africa-series. Unlike his Asian-inspired works that can be connected to a specific, well-documented study trip to North Korea, Vietnam, and China in 1957–58, his African-inspired works are far more difficult to identify. Although these graphics, tapestries, statuettes, and large-scale oil paintings often appeared among his exhibited works—as evidenced by the lists of works available in archives and catalogues—and were mentioned in reviews and articles published at the time, the sources rarely included any images. This paper aims to identify and analyze these artworks, distinguish them from Hincz’s Peace-series, and examine their possible sources of inspiration, along with some photographs found in photo archives. By exploring why Africa became a significant topic for the artist, the objective is to better understand how Africa and African culture were perceived and interpreted in 1960s socialist Hungary.