Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 18. (Budapest, 1999)
Magdolna LICHNER: Data on Gyula Benczúr's Collection of Textiles
because it was folk costume, as a counterpoint to the magnificent raiment of the commanding general, or to the uniforms of the Austrian soldiers. Perhaps the master should not be blamed for this, since at the time the painting was composed research into folkart was in its infancy/ 5 and he was merely following the ideas of his own time with regard to the way Hungarian soldiers dressed in the 17th century. A good number of ecclesiastical vestments featured in the textile collection: pluvials, casulas, stoles, etc., thirty-eight in all/ 9 The Museum bought a few of these, too/ 0 These were outstanding pieces, among them a mitre richly embroidered with gold, silver and green silk (fig. 14. MAA Inv. No.: 16.187). Unfortunately none of them can be identified in the artist's pictures on Church themes; although The Baptism of Vajk, 4 ' painted in 1875 to great acclaim, or - for example, St. Stephen Dedicating His Crown to the Virgin Mary, which was completed in 1902 are very rich in features velvets and lustrous fabrics/ 2 Although apparent, similarities in cut, shape and texture are insufficient evidence for us to state that pieces in the painter's collection served as direct models for these; we can merely say that they assisted him in creating the scene. The situation is the same with regard to the Matthias pictures/ 5 Gyula Benczúr's great task late in life. The types of 15thand 16th-century textiles purchased from the artist's heirs by the Museum of Applied Arts can be only vaguely recognized in sketches, paintings and reproductions in public collections - for example, in King Matthias Receiving the Pope's Emissaries, 1915/* or Matthias Triumphant, 45 the motifs on the fabrics can be rather clearly seen. These could have come from pieces not purchased from the collection/ 0 or perhaps we ought seek the models in the illustrations in the history books in the painter's library/ 7 possibly they were inspired by works seen in picture galleries or museums. With the help of two written sources and the above-mentioned examples we can establish that Benczúr began to form his collection of props during his Munich years, or in the 1870s at the very latest, and that he added to it right up until the end of his life, since the pieces featured in the 1925 exhibition could be grouped in age and genre according to the themes of the great historical paintings. The intention, then, is recognizable. Seldom do we have the opportunity - although in Hungary it is not unprecedented - to follow the motivations of an creative artist in his collecting activity/ 5 Our hope is that this study will contribute to further research.
