Prékopa Ágnes (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 29. (Budapest, 2013)
Imre TAKÁCS: The Upgrade Programme for the Budapest Museum of Applied Arts
In the decades that followed, the museum rapidly built up its holdings through major purchases and no less significant bequests and donations. Under the bold leadership of Jenő Radisics, a man of extraordinarily fine judgement, it took its place among the most prominent applied arts institutions in Europe (Fig. 2)? The crowning moment was the opening, in 1896, of a new museum building designed by Ödön Lech- ner, clad with coloured tiles and itself a major work of art. It is characteristic of Radisics’ prescience that he was aware of the tension between fine architecture and mu- seological function (Fig. 3-4). The artistic features and visual impact of the building did not necessarily create a favourable environment for the exhibitions inside it: “... the artistic beauty of the building competes with the collection, and we will have lost the battle if we cannot harmonise the architecture with its role as a framework,” he wrote (Fig. 5-6)? He was also aware that exhibitions were incomprehensible to most people without interpretation. “Collections and exhibitions have no voice. This gap has to be filled with spoken explanations and lectures”.10 In the two decades following its opening, 183 lectures were held in the Museum with average audiences of 435 in the first year - a resounding success even then, and almost inconceivable today. Another part of Radisics’ vision - one he shared with others - was that the museum’s infrastructure and collection should be as closely connected as possible with the training of artists and designers. “We, too, feel that the work must start with the receptive soul of youth, and for that reason we have placed great importance on bringing the school of applied arts under the same roof as the museum. The museum is 4. Floor plan of the Museum of Applied Arts showing the unfinished rear wing, 1896, Ödön Lechner, Archives of the Museum of Applied Arts the dictionary, grammar and reader of the language which future workers in the Hungarian art industry will learn. Students find in the museum’s collection and its adjunct, the library, the history and philosophy of their trade, and the rules of elocution and poetry,” he wrote." In its first few decades, the Museum of Applied Arts was the most popular museum in Hungary, with a daily average of 750 visitors, and a record of 12,000. These were not just the “museum’s people”.12 Of Radisics’ many lasting achievements, the most significant were undoubtedly his acquisitions, which he sought out with a broad international vision: what he bought in Britain, France and Scandinavia has left the Budapest museum with one of Europe’s foremost collections of art nouveau. In this area he even overtook the Victoria and Albert Museum, which he otherwise regarded as his model. Oriental and Islamic culture was also important for him, and he particularly collected Ottoman Turkish art, only an arm’s length away. As a result, the first two pillars of the museum’s collection, 11
