Imre Jakabffy (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 1. (Budapest, 1973)
KOÓS, Judith: Walter Crane and Hungary
deep and long-lasting in our country. His works were displayed also after his return to London at other English exhibitions organized in the Museum of Applied Arts, e.g. at the 1902 Brit Iparművészeti Kiállítás (Exhibition of British Decorative Art). Its catalogue was written by Jenő Radisics, who concisely summarized in the introduction the role and significance had by the English arts and crafts in the modern movements of art-craft.1 "The role and importance of the English applied art in bringing the modern art to life is widely known. There is almost no study or article which, dealing with the transformations taking place in the field of industrial arts, would not begin with giving an appreciation of the English art. The jury of the Turin exhibition, too, expressed their admiration for the activity of the British genius, when spontaneously voted for granting a honorary diploma to the British Department in recognition of the merits of England in the renewal of art. The Museum of Applied Arts has organized the present exhibition with the aim in view to show the selected products of the English decorative art, that is the ancient nest of modern art, in the original to the Hungarian public; artists, artisans and lovers of art alike, especially pieces of furniture and appointments. It has deemed to do a service by doing so all the more as the best pieces of the English applied art cannot be seen in the continent, they can be come across only dispersedly even in England, and nowhere and never could an exhibition have been organized of them up to now. The drawings and pictures appearing in the periodicals render but an imperfect idea of the real effect of the things. English people can hardly be persuaded to send their works of art over the frontiers of their country. Not at the 1900 Paris World Exhibition either could such a British Department brought about that could have given a true picture of the arts and crafts over the Channel." The last English exhibition of importance was organized in Budapest in April. 1907, when Aubrey Beardsley's 102 drawings were on the view for the first time in the Museum of Applied Arts. The catalogue pointed out his prominent position in the field of modern illustrative graphics. Let us, finally, wind this study titled "Walter Crane and Hungary" up by mentioning the m )st important writing of the Master that was published in Hungarian in 1910 under the title "Vonal és forma" (Line and form). 22 The connection of Crane and Huhgary, and that of the applied arts of England and Hungary in the years around 1900 cast light on another significant circumstance, too. According to a rather general but not sufficiently grounded opinion, in the Austro —Hungarian Monarchy the Hungarian applied art was on the whole dependent on the Austrian school, and both in its orientation and forms was, first of all, savouring of its ascendancy. Our researches into the reformative endeavours of the Hungarian applied art on the turn of the century and their international connections, have led to the conclusion — and not the least in the respect of Crane and Hungary — that in the historical situation given it were just the separatist aspirations that motivated the tendency in the Hungarian arts and crafts according to that the establishment of relations with the West European, first of all English and Scandinavian, applied arts was of major importance. 2 ^ During the years around 1900. progressive endeavours centred round the Museum of Applied Arts. It was there that numerous exhibitions, giving a notion of the applied arts in a lot of West European countries, were organized. The exhibition of Walter Crane's works was of outstanding significance among them. 165
