Kelemen Mikes Fülöp Beck Ö.

The Mikes medal is perhaps Fülöp Beck Ö.’s best known work, since it was the emblem of the journal Nyugat (The West). The model was actually an individual cast with high plastic art, which the artist created in 1907. The present version in a high number of copies was, however, commissioned by the Medal Lovers Association. In point of fact, it is this bas-relief, reproduced struck medal that became well-known. However, between the two works there are small compositional differences, in addition to the way of modelling and the technique of making. On the first one, Kelemen Mikes pulls in his feet as he gazes into the distance and the table legs are cut at random by the edge of the medal. With the struck medal, the artist seems to have made changes in the interest of a more uniform appearance. Here, Mikes bends over the table and by doing so, the outline of his upper body follows the edge of the medal better and the extended foot leans onto the edge, while by rendering the ground line, the table becomes more securely placed in the space.