Rózsa György: The Palace of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

V. The second floor

V. THE SECOND FLOOR The design of the staircase leading up to the second floor is similar to that used a floor below. The two ends of its middle section are decorated by gold-plated cast-iron candelabra on imitation marble pedestals. The marble bust of György Bessenyei by Ede Kallós (1866—1950) stand on the landing on the second floor. Since no reliable portrait of the guardsman-writer is existent, the authenticity of the bust is questionable. The resetted archivolts with braided-ribbon patterns between the five semicircular-arched windows are supported by arabesque-decorated half-pillars. The plaster statues and reliefs decorating the pillars were cast by János Marschalkó after models imported from Berlin. * To the right on the second floor we find the Small and the Large conference rooms. Both were designed by Dr. Iván Kocsis, whose plans were also followed when the Lecture Hall was remodelled. To the left we find the offices of the Library Directorate. Three paintings can be seen there: the portrait of Ferenc Toldy by Mihály Kovács, József Teleki by Miklós Barabás and Kálmán Mikszáth by Gyula Benczúr. In the portrait of the Library's founder, József Teleki, Barabás excelled in the splendid detail of the richly decorated clothing. Gyula Benczúr was the official, well-known portrait painter at the turn of the century. His portrait of Mikszáth, dated 1910, demonstrated his immense professional skill. An interesting point about the portrait is that Benczúr submitted it as his "inauguration address" to the Academy. The building, over a hundred years old, is no longer able to satisfy the Academy's demand for space, growing in proportion to the institution's increasing tasks. The institution outgrew its home: the majority of the Academy's official apparatus is already working outside the building. But the building is still worthy of 31