Statues of Lady Justice in Hungary: Representation of Justitia in town halls, courthouses, and other public spaces

: The representation of the idea of justice through the ancient Roman goddess-figure, recently known as Lady Justice, has constituted an essential part of European culture for centuries. This paper outlines these statues in town halls, courthouses, and public spaces in Hungary, and examines some of them in detail. The aim of the study is to draw a general picture of such statues in a Central and Eastern European country, namely in Hungary, to identify the characteristics of these sculptures, reflecting their social and political context, and in some cases to contrast them with that of those which were characteristic in Western Europe. The nature of this study is multi and interdisciplinary, so it applies several methods in exploring its theme; for example, art and cultural history were mixed with reference to social history and legal history. The paper focuses on the legal and political culture – conceived in the cultural context, institutional prerequisites and behavioral patterns as components of law and politics – and treats statues of Justice as part of this culture. As paper gives brief discusses, briefly, the paper – after the Justitia in the town halls and court of evaluates in detail the statue of Justice which the highly controversial Ferenc Deák Monument, erected in 1885 in central It then another one from1896 made by the finest of the late 19th century, Alajos Strobl, for the Palace of Justice which was in same year. the paper a the punitive or normative nature of the law. And what if she holds a palm branch (its usual meaning is peace) or Roman fasces (its usual meaning is authority) in her hand, and not a sword? What characteristics of law are expressed by the artist, if any, when depicting her sitting and what, if any, when depicting her standing? If she is sitting, what is she sitting on? A stone? (typical in the Middle Age) Or on a throne? (which refers to the ancient times, but is applied only in modern times) What does it mean concerning the characteristics of law if she lifts the hand holding the scales? It means, of course, that the normative nature of the law is more important than its punitive character. Is she blindfolded, and if so, why? It is – as we all know – about impartiality, but impartiality sometimes marks weakness. What does her clothing look like? Is it ancient, medieval, or modern? Is it simple or colorful? Is she depicted alone or with others, and if so, with the virtuous or with the sinner, with humans or with other goddesses? Is she depicted among “cardinal virtues” of ancient origin as one of them, or with scholastic “theological virtues”, or perhaps as one of the four virtues called the “daughters of God”? In our age, it is typical to put this question as well: why the embodiment of justice is a goddess and not one of the gods, namely why is she a female, and in what sense could a goddess be a woman? And if she is really a woman, for of which one of her most important features is beauty, how should the artist portray her female sensuality and womanhood? Is the artist free to depict her as sensually attractive? One of our conclusions of this study is that raising these kinds of questions in connection with the statues of justice illuminates a possible way of thinking about the specific characteristics of law.


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The representation of the idea of justice 1 through the ancient Roman goddess-figure, recently called Lady Justice, has constituted an essential part of European culture since the late Middle Ages. The representations of Lady Justice through sculptures have spread in three stages in Europe: first, they emerged in churches and chapels, then in town halls, courthouses, and other public spaces and, lastly, they were created as individual artistic works usually for communal use. The meaning of the ancient symbol of Justice has changed many times accordingly: it was a symbol of virtue, it was a symbolic guarantee of jurisdiction, and it was used as a representation of social ideals or particular political orientations of a community. Similar tendencies can be observed in Hungary, but because of the destruction of statues and buildings by wars and military occupation in this country only a fragmentary reconstruction is possible.

Overview
There are eighteen statues of Justitia and architectural ornaments of artistic value representing her in public spaces in Hungary: five of them can be found in Budapest and another thirteen in rural towns such as Cegléd, Szeged, Balassagyarmat, Békéscsaba, Csongrád, Eger, Győr, Kaposvár, Nyíregyháza and Szélesfehérvár. Furthermore, there is documentary evidence for the existence of statues that later disappeared, were significantly damaged or destroyed. Some of the still existing statues and architectural ornaments can be found in town halls; the majority of them are located in courthouses while four of them decorate public buildings not connected to jurisdiction and law. One of the statues of Budapest is located in a busy public space in the centre while the other can be found inside the building of a courthouse. The former is placed in front of the pedestal of the 1887 Ferenc Deák Monument with which it shares the same fate and values, as well as a lack of appreciation. The latter is the 1897 Lady Justice of Alajos Strobl which was originally made for the Palace of Justice but is currently located in a different building in which the Supreme Court of Hungary, the Curia, has been operating since 1981 after it moved out from the Palace of Justice in 1951. As the court is expected to move back to its original place in the near future, it may result in the statue's return, as well. Apart from the above-mentioned statues, there are a number of "immovable" visual representations of Lady Justice in the form of frescoes or seccos on buildings, three of which have particular artistic value. One of them is located in Esztergom, two in Budapest: in a museum, and in the former building of Palace of Justice, which was also a museum for a long time, but is expected to become the Supreme Court of Justice again in the near future. The fresco which is displayed in a Budapest museum has Italian origin. It is the work of the 14 th -century Cola Petruccioli (1360-1401), or that of his son, titled The Allegory of Justice. (Cf. image N o 1 in the Appendix.) It had once decorated the wall of the Palazzo Isidori in Perugia, and is currently exhibited in the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest. The allegory originally constituted a part of a fresco cycle that survived in 11 fragmented parts. 2 It was taken to Budapest, following a careful detachment and removal from the wall and the sale of the parts. It might have been strange, or at least unusual thing even in legal terms to "buy a fresco" in Italy, and take it to Budapest. It was done by Károly Pulszkythe brother of the lawyer and philosopher of law, Ágost Pulszkywho purchased them for the Museum of Fine Art at the end of the 19 th century. This Justitia, like the other female figures representing virtues and sins, stands in a Gothic niche, on top of which is a tympanum that shows a rosette of six circles and two triangles of the same center (i.e, the six-pointed figures symbolizing the Holy Spirit). The picture is a typical example of medieval allegories; the figure personifies a virtue without having a specific, real-world human personality. The contradiction is resolved by a text strip that reads: "Col mio giusto fervore sono acta ad aumentarte senza ciancia con questa spada e co la mia belancia" (With my passionate devotion I can make you bigger, without chatter, with this sword and balance). From this we can be sure that the message of the picture is not addressed to a general audience or the common people, but the rulers, emphasizing the usefulness of justice in the exercise of power. The other mural can be found in Esztergom. It is an Allegory of Justice again that constitutes a part of the fresco titled The Four Virtues. (Cf. image N o 2.) It was, to the best of our knowledge, painted on the wall of the studiolo ("study room" or main hall) of the palace of John Vitez de Zredna by an Italian master whose identity is still uncertain. It gained relatively wide publicity by an infamous professional debate which, in terms of its consequences and effect, ranged from enthusiastic belief to cold rejection. The debate was triggered by the assumption that the creator of the artefact, in whole or in part, was not a certain Albert master of Florence of the 15 th century, as it had been supposed and perceived earlier, 3 but the young Sandro Botticelli. 4 This was such a surprising statement that it was immediately contested by many, including the international community of art historians. 5 To put it more accurately the secco gained wide publicity since the debate had been politicized by the mass media which later inevitably cast a shadow over the professional debate, as well. Nevertheless, some of the professional public had doubts as to the creator of the secco in Esztergom being Botticelli. 6 The contemporary art historian, Árpád Mikó, for example, in a 2015 study among rich references in literature stated: "There is no historical data on Botticelli's trip to Hungary, and the average quality of the frescoes does not support this assumption. There is nothing at all to support this assumption." 7 The third fresco decorates the ceiling of the so-called "Walking Hall" (the ceremonial hall) of the Palace of Justice in Budapest. It is titled The Triumph of Justice and was painted by Károly Lotz, a prominent Hungarian painter of German descent, representative of 19 th -century academic style painting. (Cf. image N o 3.) His authorship is undisputed, but it cannot be said that there are no problems around this painting concerning the meaning of the artwork. Lotz's vibrant composition merely refers to the ideal elements of an ideal world but does not organize them into a coherent whole. It's like a textbook illustration of what Hegel said about allegory. The allegoryas we may read in the German philosopher's Aestheticpersonifies something, but neither in its substance nor in its appearance is it really a subject or an individual, but an abstraction of a general notion that "takes on an empty form of subjectivity", which can be called only "a grammatical subject". In other words, "even if we give it a human form" it will reach the concrete individuality neither of a Greek goddess, or that of a saint, or that of any real subject." 8 So the problem with Lotz's Triumph of Justice is that its figures are empty forms. It cannot be another way, for allegory is an artistic form essentially belonging to the Middle Ages, and its sign-like emptiness is at odds with both the dynamic nature of 19 th -century modernity and historicism or national romanticism. The allegory in the modern age was no longer capable of expressing complex thoughts, only of pleasing the eye. 9 That is why we call this kind of art (purely) "decorative".

Old statues of Lady Justice in town halls and courthouses
The oldest statues of Lady Justice in Hungary are in fact architectural ornaments carved out of stone which are located in town halls built in the 18 th and 19 th centuries. 10 The ornaments were 5 Budapest -Pécs: Dialóg Campus Kiadó, 2011, pp. 18-19. made by German and Hungarian stonemason masters. In the late 19 th century, statues of Lady Justice also appeared on and in the buildings of courthouses, of which some are sophisticated works of art. The first town hall statue is located in Székesfehérvár, above the entrance of one of the buildings of the former Stadt-Rathaus which already existed in Ottoman times and whose façade was created in 1712. (Cf. image N o 4.) Above the Corinthian columns decorating the portal of the building, there is an openwork stone balcony with corrugated arches and two statues standing on its two edges: the figures of Justitia and Prudentia (Justice and Prudence). Around the balcony door, there still is an elaborately ornamented cornice-like stone frame with an openwinged eagle sitting on its upper arch holding a crown and a sword in its claws. The imperial eagle, a reminder of Habsburg times, creates a special atmosphere for the classical representations of virtue. It could thus be argued that the timelessness is always placed into a specific historical context in Hungary. The stone carvings of the portal were made between 1717 -1718 by the stonemason master Thomas Walch of Eisenstadt. 11 After 1738 a statue of Lady Justice decorated the façade of the town hall of Eger,too. (Cf. image N o 5.) It was made by the German stonemason Johan Michael Singer and was transferred in the 20 th century -when the façade of the town hall was completely remodelledto the wall cabin on the façade of the small central palace built by canon József Vágner. It is baroque-style but is still effortless, chiselled and with dynamic-styled clothing, and is characterized by a massive sword that is somewhat unsuitable for a female figure, and may have been latterly "glued" on the side of the figure, in contrast with the scales (the libra) which is most certainly original. It gives the impression that the sword is not held by the figure but is only leaned against her side. The creators depicted justice on both the above-mentioned statues in a now conventional way: with a sword and scales in her hands and her eyes blindfolded. The latter is a significant detail since other representations of Lady Justice from roughly the same period that were brought to Hungary from abroadand which are currently exhibited in the Museum of Fine Arts 12depict Lady Justice without blindfolds. As representations of Lady Justice with blindfolds became popular across Europe in the 16-17 th centuries, it can be argued that creators of Hungarian public sculptures of the 18 th century kept pace with the age. During the 19 th century, several Hungarian courthouses were located in separate buildings which were often decorated with statues of Lady Justice. Apart from the statues of Alajos Strobl discussed in detail belowthere are some ten architectural ornaments of this kind from the period until the First World War. Two of them are located in Nyíregyháza, where the town hall (cf. image N o 7) was built in the 19 th century (the classicistic ground floor in 1841 and the eclectic-neo-renaissance floor in 1871) but the South wing of the building was delivered to the county court pro forma in 1872.
To date, there are two statues of Lady Justice on the two edges of the façade above the balcony overlooking the square. (Cf. image N o 8.) One of them holds a sword while the other has scales and a laurel in her hand; one wears a hair slide while the other has a crown on her head. They were attached to the building in the early 1870s; according to those believing in superstitions, they enabled an acquittal in the infamous trial called the blood libel at Tiszaeszlár, most of whose hearings were held in this building in 1883-1884.
In the late 19 th century, the gable of the neo-renaissance Palace of Tribunal (Court of Appeal) in Szeged, completed by 1882, was decorated with a statue of Lady Justice. (Cf. image N o 10.) As is widely known, this building was the seat of the counter-revolutionary government in 1919, with Michael Horthy serving as minister of defence. The creator of the architectural ornament is unknown; however, it is most likely to have been made on the basis of the drawings of architect Viktor Bachó. Significant features of the sculptures made of galvanized sheet include the main figure of Lady Justice, her uniquely decorated clothing, a hooded gown, and the fact that the scales in her left hand is missing. The latter is a significant detail because her posture suggests that she must have been holding one once. The other two female figures of the composition set up in a triangular shape are hard to identify: one of them holds a legal code while the other has a scroll in her hand. They are visibly figures associated with law and jurisdiction; based on her atoning posture, the one on the left symbolizes Equity or Grace while the one on the right represents Law. The ornament eloquently illustrates that although the material giving body to the form and carrying substance is highly significant, it does not necessarily determine the form; even tin can be used for making impressive statues. One of the most impressive and lightweight statues of Lady Justice in Hungary is located in Cegléd; above the entrance of the building of the district court where citizens seeking justice are greeted by Justice and Prudence. (Cf. image N o 9.) Its creator is unknown. It is a simple and successful stone carving whose beauty is reinforced by two contrasts. On the one hand, the chiselled statues are placed above the portal of a not necessarily elegant building which used to be neglected and is often hidden by the leaves of trees (although, the building was renovated well in 2015). On the other hand, due to the fact that the statues are likely to have been carved out of cheap stone between 1910 -1912, they are slightly worn and fragmented; symbolizing both age and timeless beauty. In the early 20 th century the Palace of Justice in Kaposvár was also decorated by a statue of Lady Justice. (Cf. image N o 6.) Although the sitting -or "enthroned"female figure wears a seven-pointed tiara, her features are less chiselled. Nonetheless, this is not a distracting detail given the statue's location at a three-storey height on the building's gable and the fact that only her silhouette is truly visible. Although the statue is hard to notice from the entrance, it becomes apparent from a distance and clearly decorates the biggest and, despite its eclectic style, appealing building of Kaposvár. Its creator is unknown; however, if anyone, the compositioni.e., the sitting figureis most likely to have been inspired by Alajos Strobl. A frequent observation regarding the statue made between 1906 and 1907 is thatsimilar to its fellow statue in the town hall of Székesfehérvárthe broadsword is held not in her right but in her left hand. The Lady Justice of Balassagyarmat is also placed at several storeys' height; however, it is not situated on the building's gable but on its façade. (Cf. images N os 11-12.) There are two vast, chiselled, ca. two-metre-high figures on the richly decorated façade of the courthouse built between 1911 -1912 in late eclectic style. The statues give the impression that they are standing on some sort of guard post watching those arriving. On the left side, there stands a "guardian of law", a personification of the Roman praetor, while the representation of justice, Lady Justice is found on the right side. Even though their creators are unknown, it is a more or less established fact that they worked under the guidance of master builders Chressel and Gaál from Brasov.
In order to find a location for the former royal Ministry of Justice, a decision was made to construct a new palace sometime after 1910. It was going to be built in Budapest in the part that is currently located at 16 Markó Street (in the building where the Supreme Court, the Curia, convenes today). The construction of the building commenced in 1913 and was completed by 1914; however, its delivery could not take place due to the outbreak of the First World War and had to be postponed again, this time due to the Aster Revolution in 1918. In spite of the ominous beginnings, the building emanates serenity and power. On its main façade, on the cornice above the four-column, high portico there stands two stone-carved figures: Praetor and Lady Justice (no image is included here in the Appendix). 13 In contrast to the ones in Balassagyarmat, this Praetor and Lady Justice do not face those arrivingsince it would be impossible in the densely built centrebut stand as if they were guarding the building. However, if this was the intended purpose of their designer and creator, we have to say that they did not succeed in achieving it. The former Ministry of Justice operated in the building only until 1945 as it later housed the Ministry of Chemical and Heavy Industries. Later on, in 1981, the Supreme Court moved into the building, together with the Supreme Prosecutor's Office. In 1983, the Lady Justice of Alajos Strobl was moved to this building and has since been confined in its narrow hallway.

A highly controversial statue: the Ferenc Deák Monument
One of the statues of Lady Justice in Budapest, which in itself is not very well known, but is, in fact, a complementary element to one of the best-known and fairly controversial monuments, is the creation of Adolf Huszár. 14 It is the monument of the significant Hungarian politician and statesman, Ferenc Deák, located in the centre at the Pest bridgehead of the Chain Bridge. (Cf. images N os 13-15.) Both the monument and its creator share the same tragic or at least unfortunate fate: the creationdue to its representation of the main figure, Ferenc Deákwas "ridiculed" by the contemporaries and the creator received strong criticism. These might have played a part in his early death at the age of 42, leaving his works unfinished. 15 Even though his statues were fiercely debated, Huszár was a successful artist of his age. He was the creator of several monuments in public spaces along the banks of the Danube on the Pest side, such as the statue of József Eötvös (1879) at the head of the Chain Bridge, and the statue of Sándor Petőfi (remodelling of Miklós Izsó's plan, 1882) at the beginning of the Duna-korzó (promenade). His speciality was, however, genre statues including the marble statue titled Venus and Amor in the hallway of the Gellért Bath. The erection of the Ferenc Deák Monument was decided upon by Act III of 1876, although it took 11 years to finally erect it. Due to Adolf Huszár's death in 1885, the moulding of the statue and the two supporting figures including that of Lady Justice took place after his death, following his plans. The two supporting figures were completed by other sculptors. The place of the monument was chosen to be the square overlooking the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the now Liberty Square. Three statues were planned for the square: one of István Széchenyi on the side of the square near the Academy (it has been standing there since 1880 and was created by József Engel), one of Ferenc Deák on the other side of the square, and a third depicting the king's equestrian statue in the middle. As one of the former names of the square suggests, the reason for the third statue was that in the year of the Settlement (the so-called Compromise of 1867) here stood the "coronation hill" where Franz Joseph I of Austria, in coronation gown and on horseback, made the traditional four slashes with his sword toward the direction of the four points of the compass (the four orientations). As is known, the latter statue was never completed.
The monument of Ferenc Deák is indeed a curious work of art. Deák sits "enthroned" aloft like a ruler, which was certainly not part of his complex personality. Doing politics, gaining 13 Images of these statues are available at https://www.kozterkep.hu, see pages of 27267. 14 Adolf Huszár (1843-1885) was a popular sculptor of his age. He was born in the then independent village of Svätý Jakub (Jakabfalva), near Banská Bystrica. According to his original profession, he was an iron foundryman, but later he studied at the Vienna Academy, and he settled in Pest in 1871. One of his early statues titled Smiling boyis shown in the Ernest Zmeták Art Gallery in Nové Zámky. 15 On his life through the eyes of his contemporaries, see for instance the article titled Huszár Adolf  [Adolf Huszár ( influence, or exercising power were certainly to his liking, but he clearly did not wish to rule explicitly despite the statue depicting him this way. This is because the statue was modelled after the Maria Theresa Monument in Vienna which depicts the Empress sitting. 16 The question of whether Deák should be represented "standing or sitting" divided the contemporaries too. The issue incited not only journalistic but also academic debates which were related to the question of whether his late contemporaries wished to see Deák as the "rhetorician" or as the "wise man of the nation". His personality supposedly did not match any of these; for it most closely corresponded to the "politician" in the positive sense as a community-builder, even though this equally connotates, to some extent, to tricks and dexterity, cunning, and sometimes intrigue.
The monument includes four supporting statues below the sitting figure of Deák: Lady Justice at the front, Nurture and National Progress (known by the contemporaries as State Wisdom) on the right side, Settlement (or Compromise of 1867) on the left side, as well as Patriotism at the back. Due to Huszár's death, the latter two figures were created by his pupil, Ede Mayer (1857-1908), based on Huszár's plans. The statue of Lady Justice was completed by 1885 and received outstanding criticism at a national exhibition. The monument is a peculiar work of art due to some discrepancies between the main and supporting figures: while the figure of Ferenc Deák is portrait-like emanating dignity and serenity, the four supporting figures are idealized, dynamic andexcept for the figure of Lady Justicefull of tension. The figure of Lady Justice is powerful, almost robust as if it was created intentionally for a dynamic age. Her figure is not "goddess-like" but rather resembles a "mature woman". Her accessories are conventional: scales in her left hand, a bookpresumably a legal codeinstead of the usual sword in her right hand. She has a gloriole (a halo-like crown, or crown-like halo), the usual sign of persons chosen by God. Her heavy build and slightly stern look are somewhat compensated by her fine clothing. Although the statue does not demonstrate dignity, its overall impactin contrast with the other three figuressuggests attitude and power. Art historian and art philosopher, Lajos Fülep (1885Fülep ( -1970 wrote almost everything significant about the formal problems of the statues in his satirical review published in the periodical Nyugat in 1918. He argued that the course of Hungarian sculpture in question "was at the service of politics and mass snobbery forgetting or not even getting to know the tasks of art. [...] [The old sculptors] undertook the same tasks as contemporary ones but did that with more modesty and taste, more stylistic sense and education. The often-taunted Ferenc Deák Monument of Adolf Huszár, this otherwise academic and boring monument, fitswith its compact massorganically into its space in an appropriate architectonic environment near the old Lloyd building and the mouth of the Chain Bridge. In fact, looking over from Buda, the Castle Hill in clear winter mornings, it creates the illusion of monumentality with its steady silhouette. At least from a certain point of the globe, in a certain season of the year and at a certain hour of the day. Similar views which cannot be claimed about its fellow statues". 17 Professionals consider these sharp criticism to be still valid today. In his review of the statues along the banks of the Danube, the contemporary art historian, József Mélyi (b. 1967)after quoting Fülep in agreementnotes that the only positive aspect of the statutenamely, that when looking at it "in a certain season of the year and at a certain hour of the day", "from a certain point of the globe" ("from the top of the Castle Hill on the other side of the Danube") it makes the impression of monumentalityhas lost its validity. 18 Due to the current traffic control around the square, the statue is impossible to approach and is hidden by trees from spring to autumn. Critics would argue that this obstruction is perhaps not such a loss.
The most multifaceted analysis of the monumentthat examines it in the context of it its creator's career path and personal fatehas been written by one of the wittiest contemporary art historians, Ildikó Nagy (b. 1940) who traced back the formal mistakes to content-based ones. 19 Without explicitly stating it, she suggested that the main reason for Huszár's failure (which might have caused or at least contributed to his death) was 20 that he had lied. To put it more precisely: he had idealized. And who idealizes and does it wrong (the way it often occurs), necessarily lies. The main question is whether it was a small or a big lie. 21 The four supplementing statues were an obvious attempt to symbolize the historical work of Deák. At least this is what can be assumed from the historical-idealizing style of academic sculpture. On these grounds, Lady Justice conveys the message that in the body of work of Ferenc Deák, justice was an organic supplement to other ideas and valuesnamely, settlement (compromise), nation and patriotism -; furthermore, the latter were united by the former. However, unfortunately, this is not the case. Deák was undoubtedly good at making compromises (whether these compromises were good or not is another question), in manipulating others and in mediating between different interests and groups. These were the values that made him a key figure in the Austro-Hungarian Settlement (Compromise, 1867) and the national progress. However, it is highly questionable whether he thus served justice. As Ildikó Nagy argued, "Deák was the hero of patience and the 'wait and see' method which are not divine virtues. [...] [The statue] failed at expressing the virtues that Deák himself embodied reconciling differences, smart manoeuvring, and clever compromises. In fact, it was not allowed to. The ancient art that was set as a norm did not acknowledge these ideals. A historical hero cannot automatically replace a mythical one. The requirement is in itself contradictory." 22 This problem persists not only in the context of Deák but also in that of Lady Justice; whatever the relationship between truth and justice, lie or at least equivocation definitely does not match justice.  191-218. 20 According to Ildikó Nagy "his contemporaries agreed that the early death of Huszár was caused by the Deák statue; the spiritual crisis caused by much dithering, judging and most importantly by the dissatisfaction with himself". NAGY, I. Az emlékműszobrászat kezdetei…, pp. 191-218. 21 The artist's failure and possible "fall" are connected not only to the degree of "aesthetic" lie but to the character, substance, and consequences of idealization as well. This is revealed by asking what the relation is of "aesthetic lies" of this monument to the political reality of that country in a given time. Putting this kind of question, we are in the field of legitimacy (being accepted and acceptable) and legitimization processes (making accepted) of a particular political regime, as to how much and in which ways could this or that artworks promote the legitimacy of this or that political system; in this case helping the acceptance of the Austro-Hungarian Settlement (Compromise) of 1867. I note that the evaluation explicated in the text of this study reflects my own somewhat skeptical views, on this and not that of the political elite of the 19 th century Hungary. 22 NAGY,Ildikó. Az emlékműszobrászat kezdetei…,p. 217. in the light of justice rather than in the light of European politics or Hungarian power relations. This is, however, a clear mistake. The biggest problem is that this statue of Lady Justice in its historical concreteness does not symbolize a thing that would be relevant to Deák. From the slightly poor but still abundant repository of legal iconography, Huszár could have chosen the usual symbol of the praetor or lex that would have been closer to the politician who had often been over-praised in legal circles. Something Deák was directly involved in was law rather than justice. This was the reason why Gyula Andrássy, who did not participate in the delivery of the monument, sent a decorative wreath with the following inscription: "To the man who rediscovered the creative force of law in our century". 23 One could argue that this is the point: law and justice are closely related. However, their relationship in the Hungarian reality is more problematic than in an ideal world, and this is probably the reason why the statue of Lady Justice of the Deák monumentin spite of its robust power, all its unique beauty, and chiselled naturehas been welcomed with caution.

Classical Goddesses: The Three Statues of Lady Justice by Alajos Strobl
The most widely acclaimed statue of Lady Justice in Hungary, both in terms of aesthetics and legal symbolism, is the one created by Alajos Strobl. 24 This refers to the statue he completed by 1897 since few are aware of the fact that Strobl created two other statues of Lady Justice. The first was a small-sized, 46-cm-high silver statue whose concept anticipated the latter statue, as the goddess is represented by a sitting female figure. (Cf. image N o 22.) However, the figure has different clothing and hairstyle, a softer gaze, her sword is in her lap rather than with its tip resting on the ground and sits in a different chair with her feet resting on a stool. The silver statue stands on a marble pedestal. Its aura does not even approximate that of the latter creation. The statue was linked to jurisdiction as it was given as a present to Royal Chief Prosecutor Sándor Kozma by the prosecutors in 1882 for the tenth anniversary of the foundation of the prosecutor's office. For a long time, the statue had been on permanent exhibition at the Hungarian National Gallery. The second Lady Justice of Strobl is currently located in the building of the Curia (formerly: Supreme Court), on its ground floor. In the near future, it is expected to be returned back to its original location in the Palace of Justice.

The Palace of Justice in Budapest
The highly monumental and representative but at the same time reserved and balanced building, designed by Alajos Hauszmann (1847Hauszmann ( -1926 He studied in Vienna under the auspices of Caspar Zumbusch. He was one of the busiest memorial sculptors, receiving orders from the government, from the church, and from private persons for forty years. He also served as a teacher at the Royal College of Fine Arts in Budapest. In 1913 he was received into nobility, with the forename "Liptóújvári". In younger years his studying of Greek-Roman art strongly influenced his style, but he also followed the then-current Western styles (Impressionism, Eclecticism, Art Nouveau), and connected them in a somewhat eclectic way. Later he developed his own individual style which became the official formal style that could be classified as a mixture of academism and historicism. On his life and work see BEŇOVA, Katarína -BIZUB, František -GAŽÍKOVÁ, Zuzana. Alojz Stróbl [1856 -1926] architecture. It was built between 1893 and 1896 and is considered to be a worthy fellow of the period's European palaces of justice. 25 These buildingsbeyond the intention to fulfill the functional demands of procedural law in the 19 th centurywere to represent the modern civil state in whole or in part and had representative functions everywhere. 26 It is not a coincidence that they were called "palaces" (Justizpalast, Palais de Justice, Igazságügyi Palota). The building constructed for the Royal Curia of Hungary, the Royal Court of Appeal of Budapest and the Crown Prosecutor's Office -which is denoted as having the features of "Roman style" in the technical description but is in fact of eclectic neo-renaissance styleis a rich depository of symbols related to law and jurisdiction.

Description and Assessment of the Statue
In  (1892) of Liberty in New York, created between 1870 and 1885. 29 As the seven spikes of the crown traditionally represent the seven seas and seven continents, it must have also been used to symbolize universality in the case of Lady Justice. The goddess of justice was placed by Strobl on a sella curulis, an ancient throne-like high-backed chair, which was the prerogative of only a few in line with ancient privileges. This thronewhich used to be known as the ivory chair due to its materialwas made of yellow polished marble. 30 The clothing of Lady Justice resembles ancient clothing, with a gown resting on her lap. The reason for the statue's success is the fine interplay that the sculptor established between the different contrasts. The creature represents an ideal of emphatically ancient origin with ancient accessories such as the sella curulis, sword and the scales; however, the look in the woman's eyes and her features are undeniably modern. Thus, the sculptor conformed to the architect. The Palace of Justice itself is also simultaneously ancient (in a historicizing sense) and modern. According to the architect-publicist of the period, Marcell Komor, Strobl "conceived the spirit of the entire building: he expressed the spirit of the day in an ancient context". 31 Similarly, the face of the female figure reflects fine and at the same time great willpower that is traditionally perceived as a characteristic of men. Some thus consider it to be somewhat masculine, with a stern look. According to the majority view, the whole figure projects power while being soft at the same time (although there is no doubt that the word "chastity" used by Hauszmann seems like an exaggeration in the case of a woman of such age today). This Lady Justice is a fragile but at the same time emancipated person. Moreover, she is autonomous and independent (in a sense that she stands by herself and is "fine by herself"; something that is not necessarily a characteristic of women) and at the same time a social woman who knows how to manoeuvre in the salons of her age. The dimensions of the statue are vast while the whole figure is chiselled. Thus, it is no wonder that the contemporaries were fascinated by the statue; it also won a Grand Prix at the 1900 World's Fair in Paris. 32 The success can be attributed to both the statue and the Palace of Justice. Some of the contemporaries naturally noted that "the new home of justice" was very expensive, unnecessarily luxurious, too decorative and so forth, while some claimed that despite the glamour, in a political context it was fragile. It was not solely jealousy that made the contemporaries say so: they feared that politics would abuse its power and expropriate jurisdiction. Indeed, law and politics had an adventurous relationship in 20 th century Hungarian history and the fate of the statue was, in a certain sense, a reflection of Hungarian politics in the 20 th century. After its restoration, just like women "made out of the right kind of material", it regained its strength. It blossomed and still flourishes in its original beauty. 34 In fact, the narrow space does not allow its original artistic virtues to prevail. Nonetheless, politicians and heads of justice in the political contextpresidents, prime ministers, attorney generalsregard it as a fine background and, for some mysterious reason, like to take photos in front of it. They stand in front of the statue just like students of law or Japanese touristsnot knowing that they are dwarfed by it. And the imperatives regarding the relationship between law and politics were not even mentioned here.

The Third Statue of Lady Justice by Alajos Strobl
Even though the hardships, even ordeals, of the statue are undoubtedly remarkablewhich have not ceased by the time of this writing -, they are not as sad as the history of Alajos Strobl's third statue. (Cf. image N o 23.) It was a 160-170-cm-high marble statue created between 1904 and 1910. In essence, it was a smaller or "improved" version of the second statue of Lady Justice, and it does not exist today. This statue differed from the second one both in terms of its size and its material. The marble used for this statue wasaccording to its descriptionscolourful and of a different kind. In some respects, Strobl honoured and followed the symbolist Shortly after these sentences had been written, the situation changed and Hungary has been enriched with several representations of Lady Justice in the past one and a half decades: both significant and less significant ones. Two of the more significant ones are related to traditional buildings, one decorates a new building while another one replaced an earlier statue that had been destroyed long ago. The first has been decorating the garden of the District Court of Békéscsaba since 2004. (Cf. image N o 25.) Looking in the garden from outside, the representation of justice gives the impression of being "behind bars": a quite frightening impression but it is easy to familiarize with it from inside the fences. The style of the statue of Attila Mészáros (b. 1964) titled Justícia [sic!] tries, on the one hand, to conform to the eclectic building of the court built in 1927 and, on the other hand, differs from that in certain aspects; with its dynamic and lively silhouette, it slightly compensates the building's weary architecture. Its material is "on bronze patinated plastic" the glow of which has unfortunately been dimmed by the sun in recent years. Its dimensions are small relative to the building, thus making the impression that the figure is slightly weightless. Alphonse Mucha. Mucha and representation of justice? Certainlygiven the fact that in the early 2000s there was no tradition that the statue's creator could follow -until then not a single statue was created on this subject in Hungary for 76 years. However, it is still peculiar that the entire figure shows more resemblance to the graceful young women of Mucha than the goddesses embodying an ideal. The statue is, in fact, a girl-like Lady Justice: it depicts a young girl around the end of her puberty holding scales aloft, and a sword. With her exciting curves, she makes a slightly Art-Nouveau-like impression. Accordingly, she is playful rather than serious: she does not demonstrate the power attached to justice and the possibility of coercion manifested in jurisdiction. It is perhaps not a coincidence that the sword is held in her hand that is lowered behind her body as if she intended to hide it. The composition leads the observer's eyes to the scales held aloft. The girl with childish beauty turns her face towards the scales as well and looks at it as if she was not only to hold it aloftas it is expected from a goddessbut also to look and wonder at the result. It is almost as if it were only the scales and the sword that suggest that she is the goddess of justiceand of course the fact that the statue is located in the garden of a court. It is slightly contradictory that an innocent-looking, joyful young girl looking forward to the beauty of the future in her cardboard dress, with her coat thrown in front of her, wearing sandals resembling beach sandals is sitting in the garden of a serious institution where decisions are being made about people's freedom, rights and wealth. The entire figure is casual and ethereal -as a matter of fact, too casual to convey a serious message. The "order of the world" definitely cannot be ensured by this girl, not to mention the pereat mundus. 38 The other statue of Lady Justice was created by László Bánvölgyi (b. 1962) and has been located in the building of the Szeged Regional Tribunal (Court of Appeal) since 2005. (Cf. image N o 25). In this case, justice is represented by a young woman, slightly older than the one in Békéscsaba, with some determination and seriousness in her eyes. At least it makes an impression that she is occupied by something important even though she probably does not have an idea of what it is, yet. She wears a nicely pleated, light dress reaching to the ground. She has a headband on her forehead (reasons for that are unknown), holds a sword in her lowered right hand and there is a libra (scales) in her left hand held aloft. 39 It thus suggests that in legal issues, the regulation and judgment of actions (represented by scales, balance, or libra) is more important than coercion or punishment (represented by sword), although both are indispensable. In respect of iconography, the small statue is perfect. However, the way the female figure holds the scales is not that favourable. Womenone could arguedo not hold anything like this, hung on two fingersexcept the keys of sports cars. The scales, on the other hand, whose pans resemble two finely made seashells with its beam and the arms being decorative straps, can be regarded as favourable: it is unique but not individualistic and fits the entire figure. As a matter of fact, it remains the case even when one has the feeling that these scales will not sway more than it looks like. At first sight, the Lady Justice of Szeged gives the impression of a not too ostentatious, chiselled and decent masterpiece. A closer look, however, reveals that there is something wrong about it. 38 The reference evokes the well-known phrase attributed to Melanchthon: Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus (Let justice be done, though the world may perish). 39 Needless to say, the position of the sword and the scales impliesconsciously or unconsciouslyconceptual considerations regarding justice on different statues and pictorial representations. In this respect, Mészáros and Bánvölgyi's solution probably looks compelling to sculptors, as well. It needs to be noted that it is no coincidence that Hungarian media statements in the first half of the 1990s, which were made in the spirit of retaliatory justice, published, more or less unexceptionally, the Lady Justice of Raffaello (1509-1513, Vatican Palace) as an illustration of the statue. Raffaello's Lady Justice holds the sword aloft ready to smite. As is known, it did not take place during the 1990s and later on (cf., the so-called fusillade trials, the Biszku trial, etc.) it was generally perceived to be later.
Its place is already slightly disturbing: namely, that it stands in a poorly lighted place of the building hosting the Szeged Regional Court of Appeal, in front of a conventional, presumably expensive but highly unremarkable curtain. (As a matter of fact, it looks much better in front of simple and cheap blue drapes on the artist's own website.) Based on its environment, one could assume that it depicts a young woman of marriageable age of a middle-class family. The real problem with the statue is that, except for the usual accessories, it lacks the pervasive characteristics of Lady Justice: transcending worldly matters, distance, consistency and humane rigour. It shows much more resemblance to a nice Fräulein than a goddess. Her hairstyle, of the latest fashion, might give the impression of being slightly messy in contrast with the timeless ideal of the statues of Lady Justice. A look at other statues of the artists reveals the answer to the question. This Lady Justice hardly differs from Bánvölgyi's Saint Barbara. They are similar in terms of their clothing, hairstyle, the way they hold their heads and their posture, even though the latter's headband looks almost like a crown. Judging from their faces, their model must have been the same person. Barbara involves a kind of spiritual elevation and mental timelessness. The features inherent in it are absent from Lady Justice. What this Saint Barbara thinks or says is thought and said sub specie aeternitatis, while this Lady Justice conveys the sole message of "it is time to get married". Despite this slightly sarcastic criticism, the statue is a specimen of chiselled works of art. The third statue of Lady Justice in the buildings of Hungarian courthouses is located in Győr, in front of the modern building of the Regional Tribunal (Court of Appeal). This was created in 2006 by Ferenc Lebó (b. 1960) and can be argued to be the most successful one. (Cf. image N o 24.) Its success is based on the fact that its creator chose the composition, proportions, age, shape and clothing of the goddess personifying the female figure as well as the place of the statue correctlyeven though the latter is highly likely to have been decided upon by architectural designer Zorán Patartics. A not negligible feature of the compositioni.e., the posture of the figureis that the female figure stands on a column-like platform with partly outstretched arms. Hence, it resembles the classical statues of Lady Justice such as the one standing on the peak of the dome of the Central Criminal Court, the Old Bailey, in London and the Statue of Justice on the entrance gate of the Dublin Castle. 40 The semicircular curve of the Lady Justice in Győrwith her right hand slightly lowered and her left hand aloftmakes a bit unusual but not disturbing, unique impression when compared to the above-mentioned ones. A nice supplement to the semicircle bent or changing pace on the shoulder is the fact that the position of the sword is not vertical but slightly bent. However, the angle of the emphatic sword and the necessarily vertical scales undoubtedly direct the observer's eyes to the pedestal of the statue; namely into nowhere. This Lady Justice wears a modern, long dress with shoulder straps instead of an ancient-style veil, robe or toga. The dress is nicely pleated evoking the lengthwise grooves of cannelures, i.e., classical columnsas highlighted by the creator himself at the ceremonial delivery of the building. 41 The dress of the female figure is slightly tightened on her breasts. It thus presents the womanhood of the young goddess without over-emphasizing it. Her hairstyle is classical but not very exciting; her face is full of beauty but not in a sensual wayor to put it differently, not in a man's eyes. One of the hardest tasks pertaining to the representations of Lady Justice is to represent a woman beautifully, in a way that would not be attractive and would not awake physical desire if it was real. One of the main virtues of the statue lies in its position. To put it more precisely, it lies in the fact that it is created to conform to the masterpiece of minimalist architectureintentionally avoiding the biggest mistake of Hungarian public space sculpture: the independence of the artwork from its environment. At least, it does its best to achieve this goal. For instance, it is deliberately column-like. Favourably, on the respective side of the building, the columns are interrupted by "a floor" of closed walls giving a vertical rhythm to the horizontal structure. However, on account of its size relative to the vast block of the building, it is lost in space. Approaching the entrance stairs, one has the impression that it disappears. Following ancient ideals and traditions, the statue quasi "communicates" with the columns, although this is not represented in a historicizing way. It thus accords with the building.
Finally, recent statues of Lady Justice in Hungary include a carved statue that was returned to the gable of the town hall of Jászberény and is the reconstructed version of an old, fallen statue resembling the original. (Cf. image N o 27). The original of the statue had been made for the town hall of Jászberény in the Hungarian Reform Era and was guarding the town and its order for a long time. The building was constructed in neoclassic style under the plans of Mihály Pollack. Its founding stone was laid in 1838 and its keystone in 1844, while it was extended in 1914 and 1931 in eclectic style. The statue of Lady Justice had been standing on the roof of the building in 1844 42 until it was demolished by a storm in 1947. 43 Although the roof was restored in 1973 and the building was renovated in 1982, the statue was not replacedto the distress of local patriots. The statue, that had been part of the town for 103 years, symbolized many things beyond the righteous order for the locals: for some it invoked the glorious pasti.e., for them the statue referred to the age when the town had had a blood courtwhile for others it symbolized legality and in general, the rule of law. A young local painter who, based on his age, did not have the chance to see the statue with his own eyes, painted a kind of nostalgic picture of the main square in the early 2000s depicting the town hall with the statue of Lady Justice on it. As a result, the preservationists of Jászberény initiated the reconstruction of the town hall in 2012 so that the statue can be returned to the building. The old statue was reconstructed from the available sources by the experienced sculptor György Máté (b. 1946) from Jászság and was used as a model for the new version by the stone-cutter, Tibor Tóásó. The parts made of metal, namely the broadsword and the scales, were moulded by sculptor Béla Szabó Imrefia (b. 1952) using a very unique, so-called Roman scales model with a pan on the one and weights on the other side. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that no such scales (libra) was used in the symbolism of Lady Justice, perhaps not even by the Romans, since its aim is not to determine the weight of something but rather to compare the weight of the things placed in the two pans. The idea that there should be two pans on the balance sheet is related by many authors 44 to the ancient legal maxim and requirement of the Audite et alteram partem (Listen to the other party!). The reason for the sculptor's idea was probably very practical: his intention to avoid the destruction of the 2.5-metre-high and more than 3-tonneheavy Lady Justice by the wind. The statue itself is slightly robust: the figure is not effortless; it lacks feminine charm, grace and ethereal beautyperhaps because it would have been invisible at a three-storey height, on the top of the building. This makes the masculine look, unique hairstyle and indefinable tiara as well as the corpulent or expressively fat body-shape of the figure acceptable. Despite these issues, the entire work, in its overall impact -in its "then and there", namely when looked at from the square in front of the buildingis in place. Hence, it makes a positive impression. Hopefully, this will remain unchanged for the next 103 years.

Conclusions
The conclusions that can be drawn from the rather diverse phenomena presented here are rather diverse ones, as well. These may be partly those connected to social history, partly those connected to iconography and iconology (including some aspects of legal semiotics), and partly those concerning legal culture. From the point of view of social history we can say that the patterns of the Hungarian representations of Lady Justice (Justitia) follow mainly the Western European patterns, but with some delay and fragmentation. Because of historical reasons, only a fragmentary reconstruction is possible, and the main tendencies can only be identified in the light of Western European trends. We can also infer Western patterns from the fact that some statues express or imply a balanced relationshipreciprocity, complementarity, and mutual assumptionsbetween law and politics, and law and state. This might be a historical reality mainly in the trends of Western Europe, but it is not always the case in Eastern Central Europe. From the point of view of iconography, 45 I stress here three points: the possible meanings of the blindness of Justitia, the relation of justice as a virtue to other virtues in these representations, and the consequences of the female characteristics of Justitia as a goddess.
The first iconographic conclusion can be drawn if we consider that during ancient times and in the Middle Ages and during the 19 th and 20 th , Lady Justice was not depicted blindfolded. Representing her blindfolded was rather an exceptional phenomenon in the period between the 16 th and 18 th centuriesdespite the fact that this still has a huge impact on everyday thinking and in popular visual arts. In the classical Greek antiquity, Justice was imaginedas Erwin Panofsky observedwith piercing and awe-inspiring eyes, whereas in Egypt the chief justice was shown eyeless in order to illustrate his impartiality, and his colleagues handless; meaning they could not take bribes. 46 The blindfolded representation of Justice first appeared in 1494 and became common only during the 16 th and 17 th centuries in Western Europe, and during the 18 th century in Hungary. The blindfolded Justitia first appeared on a woodcut for the book of the humanist and theologian, Sebastian Brant's (1457Brant's ( /8-1521 satirical allegory in German verse, titled The Ship of Fools (Das Narrenschiff). 47 This book was one of the last summaries of the traditional medieval worldview, one edition of which was illustrated with images by Albrecht Dürer. The blindness of Justitia in this work could be attributed to a fool has blindfolded her eyes with a cloth. As the legal historian, Ernst von Moeller (1867Moeller ( -1944 observed more than one hundred years ago, originally it was not a symbolic attribute, but rather an incidental negative fact, an obstacle created by human folly. 48 Blindness was always associated with evilnoted by Erwin Panofsky as well -"expecting the blindness of Homer, which served supposedly to keep his mind unvitiated by sensual appetites and blindness of Justice which was meant to assure her impartiality. Both these interpretations [that of Homer and Justice], however, are foreign to classical as well as to mediaeval thought; the figure of blindfold Justice, in particular, is a humanistic concoction of very recent origin." 49 By assuring her impartiality (if she needed such an assurance, at all) blindness has acquired a symbolic meaning. Among public sculptors, it was the Swiss Hans Gieng who first represented Lady Justice with blindfolds in Bern as part of the Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen (Fountain of Justice) in 1543. 50 Blindfolding Lady Justice also spread in painting and in courthouse decoration, 51 but in spite of this it retained some of its negative connotations for the modern audiences: it was partly a sign of weakness, partly a sign of a possible non-commitment to human factors in the world order. The act of blindfolding Justitia isas the contemporary researcher of the early modern European tradition, Valérie Hayaert has put it -"a paradoxical gesture" since it might mean a disability, a trick, or even a momentaneous disregard of the evidence put before her eyes. 52 Blindfold is in itself polysemic: it might mean sightlessness, too. Maybe this contradictory feature was one of the reasons why blindness was soon changed back after became the convention. European and Hungarian depictions of Justitia in the 19 th and 20 th centuries represent justice again without wearing a blindfold. One of the reasons for this may be that the guarantee of impartialityafter the division of power and the system of checks and balances were institutedwas no longer provided by the personal characteristics or virtues of the judges but by the system of established institutions. The second conclusion, partly of iconographic nature, can be drawn when we observe what other virtues are portrayed with Lady Justice. Observing universal art history and today's global art we see that the most frequent companion in this regard are Prudentia, Pax, Clementia, Pietas, and Veritas. 53 Quite a variety of virtues. These and other similar virtues fall into four distinct groups: the cardinal virtues of ancient origin (Justitia, Prudentia, Forditudo, Temperantia), the theological virtues of scholastic thought (Fides, Caritas, Spes), virtues that have been termed as "daughters of God" by medieval theology (Justitia, Veritas, Misericordiae, Pax), and virtues concerning the application of law and other general norms (Equitas, Pietas, Caritas, Gratia). How often do these appear next to Lady Justice in Hungary? The most common companion to Justitia is Prudentia the same way as in other countries. The second most common are Equitas and Gratia, and it is telling that there is no Justitia representation that is presented with the three theological virtues, or one of them. This could be called even "natural" at the time of the birth of the modern state. What is noteworthy is the fact that in Hungary (although there are two paintings 54 imported from Italy that could exemplify this) there are no sculptures which would depict Justitia along with the virtues of the third group (Veritas, Misericordiae, Pax); that is, the virtues that have been termed as "celestial virgins" or "daughters of God". The reason for this is presumably that those theological trends 55 that reinterpreted the Christian catalogue of virtue in the late Middle Ages were not in effect in Hungary. The most notable of the lack of the four girls is that of Truth (Veritas), the lack of which is obvious because in everyday thinking people tend to imagine Justitia and Veritas as connected.
And a third iconographic conclusion can be drawn from the female character of the Justitia statues. This feature raises three kinds of questions. 1. Why it came about that this virtue has been portrayed in the female form since the time of antiquity? 2. What is the relation of this characteristic to social reality? 3. What are the consequences of this femininity on the artistic features of the statues? As to the first question, the answer is relatively simple: in ancient Greek mythology, and then in the Christian theological system formed by it, the heavenly, or "the divine" origin virtues, norms, and orders were conveyed by female beings to the peoplepartly because women were often viewed as symbols of care, maternal protection, and virtue. As to the second question, we have to say that the question is poorly formulated, since this allegory, like many other allegories of constant ideals, is not derived from social reality, but, at most, social reality is shaped to some extent by this ideal or virtue. Since Justice alludes to judging and judgments, and by this way to judges it constitutes, however, a sheer contradiction because that the allegory of it has been captured in the form of a woman, whereas the idea of the bodies of actual judges was, until recent times, captured in bodies that were exclusively or mainly male. The same contradiction is faced by those who claim, in a sense perhaps unjustifiably, that legal judgments must be rational, while feminine existence interacts with the role of emotions and passions. Reason and passion can easily be confronted in the empire of the law, but it would be wrong to say that only one or only the other can be represented by female creatures. 56 In particular, this study contributed to clarifying the third question and answers by showing that Lady Justice is not a woman as such, but a goddess; a female deity. From this, as I have shown,  Those in Latin, French, and English. Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, Bryn Mawr College, 1907.) 56 The most well-known work of art in this respect is the painting by Gustav Klimt entitled Jurisprudenz (Jurisprudence, 1903/07), designed for the University of Vienna, in which both passion and rationality are portrayed by women; and women are at home not only in the dark hell (in the world of sin and punishment) but even in the exalted heaven (where the standards of the good conduct reside); it is true that they are in the former place in order to punish a man. much is to come regarding the characteristics of this female. She should be neither too young nor too old, neither inexperienced nor matured. She must be full of beauty but not sensually attractive, graceful but not weak, vigorous, but not violent. This means that there is an ideal point where the beauty of the female being is revealed by the artist, but the sensually appealing elements are omitted from the depiction. Of all of the creators of the contemporary statues of Justitia in Hungary there is only one case in which this expectation is accomplished. Around this point, the most important thingas everywhere in art in generalis to have a balance and a good sense of measure. Finally, this study also has a conclusion concerning the legal culture, including courthouses, and their decoration with Justitia statues. From this study, it is obvious that such decoration of public buildings, town halls and courts is a feature of the modern age. Although the statues themselves convey an ancient and medieval tradition, this mode of decoration itself is a typical feature of modern times. As we move towards the end of the modern age, we see that such depictions are increasingly being abandoned, particularly in administrative buildings, but more recently in court decorations, as well. Not because of some sort of negligence or of saving resources, but because the medieval tradition is less and less compatible with newer styles of postmodern architecture, such as the so-called minimalist style. This is illustrated by the fact that in the last twenty or thirty years, no such statues were erected, either independently or for decorative purposes, in Hungary, except for those mentioned in this paper.