Imre Jakabffy (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 8. (Budapest, 1984)

VARGA, Vera: Art Nouveau art glasses

ment of Art Nouveau in Hungary with all the contradictions, it shows. While Gallé, Tiffany and Lalique radically brought with the tradition of historism and created a new style, with its new world of from and decoration, in Hungary historism remained the determinating style, as the era of Hungarian Millenary confirmed its tendencies. The national — or sometimes even nationalistic — attitude, that is so prevailing in the Hungarian glassmaking of this period and that we regard as one of the Art Nouveau tendencies here, in this country, is in many ways, the inheritance of historism, just as well, as most of the tradition of form and decoration of the Hungarian decorative arts in the Art Nouveau period. Though obviously dominating in the form and decoration culture of objects in everyday life — even if a little bit late for the European development — Art Nouveau is only a ,temporary tendency" in Hungarian decorative and applied arts. On the one hand it is the cradle of modernism, while on the other hand it carries on and completes the tradition of historism. The theories and general characteristics of international Art Nouveau style appear in Hungary rather in theory than in practical artistic works, especially in the early Art Nouveau period. We can observe this insistance on the achievements of historism in glass art, as well, in the products of the Schreiber factory and in the works of Leó Pantocsek, Henrik Giergl and István Sovánka. The products of the Schreiber factory were decorated with richly enamelled and gilded motifs. Among the Schreiber factories, the factory at Zayugróc reached a very high artistic and technical level and had Japan and North America as main markets for its glassware products, especially tableware. 12. Vase, Louis Comfort Tiffany, c. 1910. Lava type of glass, coloured and decorated with lustre and other special technics. Ht 25,5 cm. Ill