Veszprémi Nóra - Szücs György szerk.: Vaszary János (1867–1939) gyűjteményes kiállítása (A Magyar Nemzeti Galéria kiadványai 2007/3)

Tanulmányok: - ŐRINÉ NAGY CECÍLIA: Vaszary János iparművészeti tevékenysége

CECÍLIA ŐRINÉ NAGY János Vaszary the Applied Artist In the years around the tum of the century, János Vaszary was much involved in applied-arts design. In line with the "total art" aspirations of Art Nouveau, these works of his are both an organic part of his artistic activity and significant works of art in themselves, making up an important share of his multifaceted oeuvre. The Hungarian Applied Arts Society, in preparation for the 1900 Paris World's Fair, conducted a competition for applied-art works in a modern, nevertheless Hungarian vein to represent the nation. Several renowned artists, the then already famous Vaszary among them, were invited to participate in the preparations. He finally exhibited two tapestries, Shepherd Boy (Cat. Nos 320, 334) and Storks woven at Németelemér, as well as a painting entitled Golden Age (Cat. No. 23), the frame of which is a noteworthy piece of appliedart design, Conforming to the antiquing, symbolist content of the painting, the golden ornaments of the frame depict flaming hearts and stylized foliage on a black base. The frame of his painting The Return of Spring (Cat. No. 24) is also his creation. The bluish green, strongly patinated golden frame bears shapes of a stylized tree trunk and foliage fitting the mood of the picture. A characteristic and outstanding work is his Mirror Frame of 1899. Its lower part depicts a girl braiding her hair as she looks into a mirror among geranium pots. Its two sides are ornamented with peacock-feather motifs, which Vaszary had used as decorative elements in several of his graphics designs before. It was also around 1900 that the painter produced his dish designs, the formal world of which is not at all out of the usual in the art of the time. The results of scientific experiments conducted in ceramics at the time made the production of dishes of irregular shapes and ornamentation possible - methods the Zsolnay Factory often made use of on the basis of designs by Sándor Apáti Abt and Lajos Mack at the time. Vaszary's most significant achievement in the field of applied arts was surely his textile designs - not the least owing to the fact that his commissioner ]enő Radisics, the director of the Hungarian Museum of Applied Arts, and his weaver Sarolta Kovalszky both proved to be creative collaborators in his endeavours. At her Németelemér workshop, Sarolta Kovalszky wove the tapestry entitled Little Girl with Kittens (Cat. Nos 322, 335) designed by Vaszary in 1901, which was exhibited at the Torino International Applied Arts Fair in 1902. In 1903, Jenő Radisics commissioned Sarolta Kovalszky to weave a carpet designed by Vaszary for the Museum of Applied Arts. Work was begun on the project at Gödöllő in 1904, where Aladár Körösfői-Kriesch agreed to set up a publicly funded weaving workshop. Sarolta Kovalszky even moved to Gödöllő for a while, though work at Németelemér went on. Jenő Radisics continued to help and support Vaszary's applied-art activities through his commissions. In 1905, when he curated the Hungarian pavilion at the Venice Biennial, he ordered two tapestry designs from the artist, and it was his by now well-known and much-liked peony motifs that decorated the furniture and curtains of its furnishing. Vaszary's tapestry entitled Honey-Cake Peddler (Cat. No. 336) was woven at the Gödöllő workshop in the same year, several photos of which are extant. In her monograph, Lenke Haulisch considers Vaszary's Spring to have been his last work produced at Gödöllő. Among his early frame, mirror and dish designs, his cover and poster designs are also important in discussing his applied-art work. An interesting aspect of this is his relation to the Zsolnay Factory. The Zsolnay Collection of the Pécs Janus Pannonius Museum holds two pyrogranite designs entitled Madonna and Child (Cat. No. 346), both attributed to him. Vaszary is also associated with the mosaic on the main front of the Saint Elizabeth church and parsonage in Pozsony (Bratislava). The architect Ödön Lechner had originally designed a round window for the façade, but in its stead an Italian mosaic depicting Saint Elizabeth by Vaszary was placed - being a donation by Primate Kolos Vaszary, the uncle of the painter. In 1906, however, Vaszary resigned from the Applied Arts Society. He did exhibit his applied-art works at the 1906 Milan International Exhibition, and displayed several of his tapestries at his major one-man show at the Budapest National Salon. Nevertheless, he no longer produced applied-art works, committing himself solely to the art of painting.