Veszprémi Nóra - Jávor Anna - Advisory - Szücs György szerk.: A Magyar Nemzeti Galéria Évkönyve 2005-2007. 25/10 (MNG Budapest 2008)

STUDIES - Zsuzsa FARKAS: Reproductions in a Sculptor's Estate from the 1870s: Anna Christ's Photographs of Ferenc Kugler's Statues

queathed to the Kassa museum was also unique in its kind. In the order of exhibition, they depicted following: Zsigmond Ormós, Ferenc Pulszky, the painters Soma Orlai (Petrich), Viktor Madarász, Mór Than and Károly Lötz, the sculptor József Engel, as well as three unknown men, and these were eked out by a plaster bust of Franz Liszt.

51 That Kugler was a talented artist is also attested by his two Jesus statues, which, due to his education in Rome, represent the classical tradition as defined by the work of Canova. The Association of Fine Artists had exhibited one of them, and the artist had to read in the papers not only that it was no good, but that the critic of the Fővárosi Lapok found it dreadful.

52 As far as the rules of an academic learning permitted, Kugler's busts and relief portraits were in the vein of realistic representation. It was difficult, even impossible, to distance oneself from the strict canon, or break the fetters of convention. From 1865, his busts had a positive reception, but were gradually eclipsed from 1870. In 1871, the National Museum offered him the opportunity to display his statues Hercules, Sophocles and Gladiator. These now unknown works were highly praised by the critic of the magazine Magyarország és a Nagyvilág.^ The literary and art magazine Figyelő, edited by the excellent art critic, Tamás Szana between 1871 and 1876, published three articles in 1872 mentioning Kugler's works. The critic Aladár György reviewed the Association of Fine Artists exhibition, and criticized the various mistakes he noted on the artworks, for example, he commented that Kugler's portrait of Liszt depicted a general or a politician rather than an artist.

54 These observations worthy of entertainment journalism were taken up by other authors. Professional art magazines lacking at the time, such phrases would pass the verdict on the work of artists. We cannot tell what real reasons behind the critic's revulsion were, but Kugler's works certainly did not deserve any extreme tone of voice, for they doubtless meet academic standards. An obituary summarized the judgment of the times: "He died at the age of 38 in Vienna on April 11,1875. A son of Sopron, he was about to return home from Vienna, when, during packing his artworks, unexpected death overtook him. In him we lost not a great genius, but a diligent artist."

55 In 1883, the sculpture collection of the National Museum held two of his statues: a relief portrait

56 and the Pulszky tomb as a deposit. On the basis of his reliefs, Gyula Pasteiner observed at the time that Kugler would have been able to create notable pieces in this genre.

57 In his 1926 study of the sculpture collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Ervin Ybl wrote appreciatively of the Pulszky tomb,

5S liking its sculptural virtues to those of the works of Adolf von Hildebrand (1847-1921). It could have been an important instant in his current reception and evaluation had the two Kugler works in the estate of Mrs. Pulszky and the tomb been reproduced in the tome on Ferenc Pulszky.

59 Perhaps light could have been even shed on the quality of their relationship. By the end of the 20

th century, the work of the 8-10 significant sculptors who were contemporaries of Miklós Izsó sunk into oblivion. Though overshadowed by the sculptor genius, Ferenc Kugler's estate has many interesting episodes in store thanks to his artistic cooperation with an outstanding photographer woman and his family, who preserved his oeuvre. While writing his history of famous Sopron families in 1936, Endre Csatkai hoped to thoroughly examine photos, drawings, watercolours, several Kugler folders. Due to the death of the descendants of the family, he did not have the opportunity to study the written material that remained with them, but, as seen from the above, a significant estate which includes photos of unparalleled importance with regard to even Hungarian photographic history went into the possession of the Museum of Fine Arts and then the National Gallery. NOTES 1 Farkas, Zsuzsa and Júlia Papp. A műtárgyfényképezés kezdetei Magyarországon (1840-1885). (A Magyar Fotográfia Forrásai 4.) Budapest: Magyar Fotográfiai Múzeum, 2007. 2 Soós, Gyula. "Kugler Pál Ferenc soproni szobrász (1836-1875)." In: Soproni Szemle, 1965, no. 2, pp. 171-175. 3 The literary remains of Gyula Soós. Archive of the Research Institute for Art History of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, inv. no.: MKCS-C-5-37-676-9. 4 The Fővárosi Lapok mentioned his suicide (May 29, 1875, p. 55) referring to the data of the Ungarische Lloyd. 5 Oil on canvas, 3

X

30 cm, unsigned. Archive of the Hungarian National Gallery (hereinafter: HNGA), inv. no.: 3781/1939. 6 The brothers are from left to right: Antal, city-hall tax counsellor (Sopron); László, bookseller; Adolf, bookseller; Mihály, engineer (Sopron); Ferenc, sculptor; János, lawyer, Gerard, confectioner; Heinrich, confectioner. 7 HNGA, inv. no.: 3734/1936. On the technical interest of the photo, see Farkas, Zsuzsa. Festő-fényképészek 1840-1880. N.p. [Kecskemét:] Magyar Fotográfiai Múzeum, 2005, p. 96. 8 HNGA, inv. no.: 3782/1939/1. 9 Hungarian National Museum Photo Collection (hereinafter: HNM PC), inv. no.: 1939/3. "Visit card" format. Gift of Elek Petrovics. The oval portrait by Anna Christ shows Ferenc Kugler in full profile. A special kind of paper was used, its internal, oval part protruding, and thus the portrait has the effect of a relief. 10 HNGA, inv. no.: 3782/1939/4. The back side bears fourteen names, with Kugler's inserted. 11 HNGA, inv. no.: 3782/1939/3. There is no mark on the photo on either side. 12 HNGA, inv. no.: 3782/1939/3. With "Grostante" crossed, and "Urgrosmutter" written underneath. 13 In 1862, János Wéber built a wooden booth in the park; in 1865, János Soma Wéber a kiosk according to Budapest Municipal Archive (hereinafter: MA), documents of the Building Committee (hereinafter: BC): 30/1862, 85/1864. 14 Hidvégi, Violetta. "Cirkuszok Pesten az 1860-as években." In: Vadas, Ferenc ed. Romantikus kastély. Tanulmányok Komárik Dénes tiszteletére. Budapest: Hild-Ybl Alapítvány, 2004, pp. 251—263. Using plans, archival sources, the excellent study describes circus buildings in the Botanical Gardens, the Beleznay Gardens, later on the Danube bank and City Park. 15 Molnár Gál, Péter. A pesti mulatók: előszó egy színháztörténethez. N.p. [Budapest: ] Helikon, 2001, pp. 62-68. 16 MA building permits: IV. 1305. 268/1867. The permit was granted under the condition that the studio would be built of not wooden planks but using brick walls and durable wood, and the roof would have flame-resisting covering. 17 "We highly recommend her studio to the public because, as it is said, female meekness is manifest in the photographs she makes, which as such are otherwise mechanical." "Hírharang." In: Hölgyfutár, October 24, 1856, no. 246, p. 997. 18 She was entered in the photographers' registry as R. Büki Fejér, and ran her studio between 1863 and 1873. She herself had the studio built at 12 Soroksári út. See: MA BC 744/1863. On her activities see: "Arcképezési járvány." In: Fővárosi Lapok, June 24, 1864, p. 605. 19 Advertisement of Anna Guichard, in: Magyarország és a Nagyvilág, 1869, no. 10, p. 120. 20 "Legújabb találmány a fényképészet terén." In: A Divat, April 8, 1874, p. 56. 21 HNM PC. She has nine photographs in the dress collection ("visit card" format, inv. nos: 4621/1957, 564/1966, 78.754, 82.1809, 84.634, four other photographs without inv. nos), but there is not detail concerning her studio. 22 In 1868, a guard in the tower of city hall signalled to the lamplighters, who would then go and switch the lights on with their rods. 23 Cs. Plank, Ibolya. "Fényképészmütermek Budapesten." In: Budapesti Negyed 5 (1997), no 1, pp. 67-105. Ibolya Cs. Plank and Violetta Hidvégi study particularly the special glass structures of Pest photo studios. 24 MA BC: 1181/1868. According to Károly Lyka (Közönség és művészet a századvégen. N.p. [Budapest:] Corvina, 1982, pp. 15-16), the studio was built to-