Tátrai Vilmos szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 92-93.(Budapest, 2000)
VERŐ, MÁRIA: Gothic Sculptures
of the war. In 1923, the valuable collection, packed in 23 large crates, was transported to Budapest. Almost every sculpture and a large part of the paintings were deposited in the Museum. In 1927, Back became a member of the Upper House of Parliament. The initially formal relationship between Back and Elek Petrovics developed over the years into a warm friendship. It is due to the harmonious connections between the family and the Museum that the valuable collection of sculptures was not scattered and that since the opening of the first exhibition of sculptures in 1921, the public was able to view it without interruption. The majority of the deposited pieces have since been purchased by the Museum or had been donated by the collector. The collection of Emil Delmár (1876-1959) is similar in quality to that of Bernát Back. Dr. Emil Delmár, lawyer and entrepreneur, represents a maecenas in the history of Hungarian art collections. He combined a solid cultural background with a deep appreciation for music and literature, while maintaining a vivid scientific curiosity and exacting standards. Travel to the Far-East, following a youthful engagement in a military career, directed his attention to ancient art. He established solid links of friendship with the outstanding art experts of the period, Károly Csányi, Jenő Radisics and Elek Petrovics. On the basis of their advice one of the most significant private collections was created in Delmár 's Széchenyi street home. Sculptures represented the most important part of this collection, including a Florentine bronze Saint Christopher from the beginning of the 15 th Century, which became quite celebrated and which is currently in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Delmár loaned four Gothic sculptures to the 1921 exhibition of sculptures of the Museum of Fine Arts. A part of the collection was shown in Bern, in 1939. He also wrote a book of the medieval Hungarian artifacts preserved in Switzerland. He emigrated to Switzerland in 1943 and from there, via Cuba, to the United States. During the war and on the request of the Department of Defense, he prepared a map of the location of the major artistic treasures in Hungary in order that they might avoid injury during the aerial bombardments. His friend Antal Géber wrote of him: He worked for his country even then and, until the defeat of the 1956 uprising, he hoped that conditions would improve and that he could return home. That part of his collection that remained in Hungary was purchased by the Museum from his heirs in 1984. Mention must also be made of the works, which came to the Museum from the Collection of Baron Maurice Kornfeld (1882-1967). The Kornfeld family, originally from Bohemia, settled in Hungary after the 1867 Austro-Hungarian Compromize. Maurice Kornfeld was born in Hungary, obtained a doctorate in Economic Administration in Leipzig and served as managing director of the Ganz-Danubius Electric Corporation. After 1920 he spent much of his time on his estate in Ireg but remained very active in public affairs, representing Hungary at the World Economic Conference in Geneva, in 1927. From this year on, he was also a Member of the Upper House of Parliament. He participated actively, with Adolf Kohner and Pál Majovszky in the work of the Hungarian National Collection Union, established by the Minister of Culture, Kuno Klebelsberg, in 1922. Kornfeld lived in Hungary until 1944. The fine sculptures in his collection, which compare favorably in their art historical significance with those of Emil Delmár and Bernát Back, were shown at the Exhibition of Ecclesiastic Art, organized by the Museum of Applied Arts, in 1930. The pieces shown at this exhibition are known to us largely by description and from photographs.
