Katalin Gellér: The art colony of Gödöllő 1901-1920 (Gödöllő, 2001)

her toy called Little Prince Peter's Cart. Árpád Juhász made tiny fret-work Matyó dolls. Sándor Nagy's illustrations to Uncle Móka's stories, Aladár Körösfői-Kriesch's story book illustrations with their strong contours, Mariska Undi's volume in the style of English fairytale books, and Rezső Mihály's cube-shaped volume of fairy tales in Viennese style represent the history of the revival of childrens' book illustration in a diversity of styles. The Colonists were convinced that artistic education must begin in childhood, children should be surrounded with fine objects in an esthetic environment so that a morally better WAY OF LIFE Community living and customs based on Socialist principles form the basis of the "Myth of Gödöllő". Already ín Diód the young artists had practised Tolstoyan principles: they worked in the fields and tried to build their own dwellings. Everyday activities permeated with sacred and mystical significance formed the basis of their "religion of love". Unusual health regimes and cures were introduced by Körösfői-Kriesch who had a frail constitution. His family, the Aladár Körösfői-Kriesch: Children on the Sea-shore/oil. tempera on canvas. 1905 generation may grow up. They were also interested in the theory of education: their writings published in special periodicals and the recollections of their contemporaries reveal that they were advocates of educational reform. Sándor Nagy sought tools and ways to develop the gifts and interests of a child: "we must preserve the contact with Nature and Life" that still lives in them, he wrote. In children's drawings, as in folk art, he perceived "a spiritual spring gushing forth from the depths of millenia-old cultures", while Körösfői-Kriesch believed that the teaching of drawing to children would result in a revival of folk art. Nagys and Juhász were all vegetarians. They took walks in the Gödöllő parks, went on excursions, regularly visited the lake in Szentjakab nearby, swam and sunbathed in the nude. In summer, the Körösfői-Kriesch family slept outside in an open bower. Sport was an organic part of their way of life. Sándor Nagy was a passionate javelin thower and runner. The colony members were probably among the first in Hungary to ski. The skies and boots were sent them by Akseli Gallen-Kallela from Finland. Their clothing differed from that of their contemporaries: instead of the typical turn-of-the century figures, the photos show men with long hair and beards, wearing sandals. Sometimes a woman in a corset and a large hat appers (perhaps the wife of Ervin Raáb, countess Mária Bethlen, or