Öriné Nagy Cecília (szerk.): A gödöllői szőnyeg 100 éve - Tanulmányok a 20. századi magyar textilművészet történetéhez (Gödöllő, 2009)

Summaries

132 It is interesting to compare the above works of Sándor Nagy with those of Vilmos Huszár who was the Hungarian representative of the school "De Stijl". His picture Virágváza ('beau-pot') is from around 1927. "His art is featured by the renouncement of space and by an image construction reduced to a few colours and to simple means." The small wall carpets of Sándor Nagy have similar composition and stylisation, but they were created some 20 years earlier. I make a detailed comparison between those works of the two artists, which have several figures on them and are organized by a strict order. The slant to geometry of the artists of Gödöllő, which moved them towards abstraction, was the consequence of the technique dictated by the material. Their creations of this type were much more than mere experimentation, for they created masterpieces also in this style. I present the looped pile textile of István Örkényi having on it the multiplied emblem of the publishing house Kner. He studied in Gödöllő as the student of the Applied Art School. Elek Falus is the founder of the textile section of the Art Colony of Kecskemét. He is the designer of the textile cover of the series "Nyugat könyvek" (books edited by the literary periodical called Nyugat,West'). Artúr Lakatos has created in several branches of art. In the catalogue of his exhibition held around 1910, we can find the title of a watercolour Gödöllői leányok ('girls from Gödöllő'). I present a picture and ask the experts of the field if it can be the one (VI—VII. Színes tábla, illus 2). Most probably, the triptych Téli táj ('landscape in winter') to be found in the Museum of Applied Arts of Budapest can be considered as the work of art of Artúr Lakatos. (VI—VII. Színes tábla, illus 3) This carpet with motifs taken from a money pouch plate of the Hungarian conquest age is under the care of the Hungarian National Museum. Upon a closer inspection of the patterns, we discover a round and round motley ol little monsters. It seems to me that in this case, it was Béla Kiss, a disciple of Sándor Nagy who has made the execution of his teacher's design. This carpet exists also in another variant woven in less well-matching colours. The ceramic piece photographed in front of it most probably means that not only did the factory of Emil Fischer amply utilize the decoration elements from the Pattern Sheets of Sándor Nagy, but occasionally, the artist himself made designs for ceramics. This big size carpet with strange motifs has been exhibited also in Japan. It became easier to identify it when, in the course time, a fragment of its cartoon was found with the following inscriptions: "Mantis, Workshop of Carpet Weavers. Yellow peacock, Peruvian reconstruction". (VI—VII. Színes tábla, illus 4) The painter István Zichy has perpetuated a few toys of the age on this tempera painting of 1909. Most surprisingly, the motifs of the window curtain are the same as those on the "Yellow Peacock" carpet. (VI—VII. Színes tábla, illus 5) Stylised crabs in similar conception are woven on this half a metre size small model carpet that has long since come to light. The material of motifs collected by Pál Horti in Central America got home in 1907. It was in part divided among the technical schools, so it is possible that some samples of it came also to the Weaving School of Gödöllő. When Körösfői-Kriesch formulated the motifs of his world standard composition Kalotaszegi asszonyok ('Women of Kalotaszeg'), he must have been inspired by the above Central American motifs, much as he applied them in a brilliant poetic transfiguration. Sándor Nagy, in his memoirs, found to be pertinent about his friend the following: "Our Aladár has found out quite abstract, cross-sectional, as it were theoretical motifs." Thus, art deco for which exotic arts and the discovery of abstraction aiming at the essence were important sources appeared in Hungary internationally soon, as early as around 1908. (VI—VII. Színes tábla, illus 6) We can see now the remaining part of the material associated with the textile workshop "Manus". The design of Pál Dóczi entitled Mátyás és Beatrix ('King Mathias and his wife') has been prepared in an unambiguous art-deco stylisation. Smaller designs or larger cartoons are presented from the paper material of "Manus". The designs are moderately stylised, later they arrive at modernism. The design of Jenő Remsey from around 1930, places his figures in a luxuriant natural environment. Ihe carpets of the wife of Sándor Nagy stylise the gorgeous colourfulness of the gardens and fields abounding in flowers. Let us pass on to artists who worked in places other than Gödöllő. The printed textile of Lajos Kozma bears the insignia of his workshop. The red Kozma chair with upholstery of his design is from 1928. The tapestry of Kató Lukács with red and blue folk tale figures was prepared in 1925. (VI—VII. Színes tábla, illus 7) is the design in colours of the tapestry with felt application Magyar falu ('Hungarian Village') made by Béla Büky. (VI—VII. Színes tábla, illus 8) is the felt application work with strongly stylised figures of Mária Barta. The genuine Hungarian style was also fashionable. The work of Barna Basilides represented Hungary at the most illustrious place, in the palace of the League of Nations in Geneva. The floor carpets of Aladár Kacziány, the so-called Turáni ('Turanian') carpets relate to the traditions of Transylvania. István Pekáry was also a representative of the genuine Hungarian stylisation. We may even present his designs. Here are some carpet sketches made for a children's room. The wall-carpets present buildings, typical figures and clumsy animals of a Hungarian village. Young couples walk proudly in different Hungarian traditional costumes. Highwaymen, brave warriors swagger on the following one; finally, the Bible comes to life. Sándor Muhits, who was a jack-of-all-trades, organized, after the war, a textile and pottery studio in the newly founded Artists' Colony of Miskolc. A few designs for his works based on rural folk art are presented (VI—VII. Színes tábla, illus 12). In 1926, he returned to Budapest to teach in the College of Applied Arts. Very soon, it became the most important class of the