Horváth János: Rippl-Rónai József iparművészeti munkássága, az Andrássy-ebédlő (Kaposvár, 2013)
János Horváth: József Rippl-Rónai and the Applied Arts - the Andrássy Dining Room
In a letter written to his brother Ödön in October of 1897, Rippl-Rónai recounts his stay at Toketerebes, where he showed the drafts to Count Andrássy. "Everything is going well. All my drafts met with success, they are about to be actualised and exhibited in Pest. We can hardly wait to introduce them to the public. As I have expected, Radisics grasped at the opportunity - I have been making progress in the field of applied arts on a daily base... There will be chairs in the dining room, probably with silver embroidery; a big Welsh dresser is also needed to accommodate small but important utensils (tableware, cups, etc.). The client also likes the design of the ceiling and has not mentioned financial obstacles yet; it is likely to be realised. In any case, I try to follow a reasonable budget. Handing in the settlement of accounts to Thék is due, he would not lift a finger without being paid, and now I am in charge of both practical and theoretical duties. In other words, this project is my intellectual property." Rippl-Rónai was entrusted with the task of choosing the craftsmen who would actualise his drafts. Endre Thék (1842-1919), owner of a cabinet-making manufacture in Pest delivered the polished mahogany furniture, Miksa Róth (1865-1944), Budapest-based glass painter and mosaic artist created the landscape-like, 12 square metre stained glass windows. The porcelain tableware is the product of Vilmos Zsolnay's (1828-1900) Zsolnay Porcelain Manufacture in Pécs, the tapestry and the folding screen were woven by Lazarine Baudrion. Friedrich Zitzmann (1840-1906), Wiesbaden-based glassblower manufactured the glass ceiling along with glass vases, glasses, sconces. The interior of the Andrássy Dining Room served as a unified representation of Art Nouveau. It was the first monumental work of modern Hungarian applied arts.The original interior perished in 1918, during the ravages of World War I; it is preserved only by photographic archives, correspondence, and drafts. The Rippl-Rónai Museum in Kaposvár has received several of these drafts from the heritage of art collector Ödön Rippl-Rónai, who donated his collection to the museum.The primary document is an interior sketch of the furniture's arrangement. In the middle of the room, there is a big, oval table with chairs, facing the grand Welsh dresser. The fireplace and the mirror are located on the left, the windows and a stately entrance on the right. The ceiling consists of a stained glass window ornate with clouds, framed by a similarly ornate motif. There are not any glass windows on the sketch, which indicates that Rippl-Rónai was given a free hand to execute further ideas, impromptu alterations. The stained glass window was, supposedly, built into the space designed for the door. Lazarine embroidered, with silk, a three-panelled „folding screen with big, red flowers"; its roseroot motifs resemble the brass stampings of the Welsh dresser. The folding screen served to cover the door to the kitchen; unfortunately, it perished as well. Only one, low-quality photograph of the dining room has survived. It exposes the table, with the white vase frequently applied by Rippl-Rónai, the fireplace and the tapestry, the open, grand Welsh dresser, next to the folding screen, and the 30 metre-long frame motif of the ceiling, woven in factories. The furniture was built from mahogany, embellished with oxidised brass. A Welsh dresser and a sideboard were constructed, in accordance with the drafts; only the brass, roseroot - shaped stampings of the doors became bigger and more accentuated.
