Folia Historica 32. (Budapest, 2017)

II. KÖZLEMÉNYEK - Gál Vilmos: A lövészárkok művészete. Első világháborús frontemlékek a Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum Egyedi Tárgyak Gyűjteményében

THE ART OF THE TRENCHES

FIRST WORLD WAR FRONT OBJECTS AT THE COLLECTION OF CONTEMPORARY INDIVIDUAL OBJECTS OF THE HUNGARIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM

Summary

Most of the Hungarian museums with historical collections keep front objects from the First and Second World Wars. This considerable amount of museum objects have not been in the forefront of research in recent decades, but nowadays, connecting to the anniversary of the Great War and resulting from a change of perspective in historical research, the exploration of front relics has gained new impetus.

This paper discusses the World War I front objects in the Hungarian National Museum, endeavours to describe the available material from as many viewpoints as possible, to cast light on the circumstances of their making, and to interpret their role in and effect on the everyday life of front soldiers.

In addition to classifying the front objects by several aspects, such as material, ornamentation, technical standard of their making, function; the paper discusses nonphysical front products as well, trying to recall and systematize every artistic activity that appeared in the trenches. Thus the role of music, poetry, caricature, front newspapers, etc. is also described. Naturally, the analysis of museum objects and artworks is the most important element in the paper, for which the author was given professional help by military historians and metal conservators. In addition, the paper gives a comprehensive survey of the articles and photographs appeared in wartime newspapers which speak about front objects, their making, and about trench art. The final part of the paper publishes the catalogue of the front objects kept at the Hungarian National Museum.

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