City Park 1912

Kmetty János’ painting presents us with stylized trees in what he calls a city park. The tree, a symbol of life and growth, has been revered across cultures. Consider the Tree of Life, a motif found from ancient Mesopotamia to modern-day art, symbolizing interconnectedness. In János' work, the trees stand regimented, almost like guardians, yet their vibrant color suggests vitality, echoing the ancient symbol of the grove as sacred space. The grove, a motif since classical antiquity, was a place where people communed with nature, divinities, or their inner selves. The park's geometric abstraction evokes a longing for nature tamed, echoing a modern desire to find solace in structured landscapes. This push and pull between the natural and the ordered, the wild and the contained, engages us on a deep, subconscious level, perhaps stirring ancestral memories of groves and the powerful emotions associated with them. The painting invites us to consider how we, too, seek to capture and control nature, mirroring the anxieties and desires of our own time. It is another turn of the wheel, and the motif of the grove has resurfaced, evolved, and taken on a new meaning in the heart of the modern city.