Csornay Boldizsár - Dobos Zsuzsa - Varga Ágota - Zakariás János szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 97. (Budapest, 2002)

The Year 2002

Edgar Boehm ( 1834-1890), a renowned portrait sculptor and a protégé of Queen Victoria, moved to London from Vienna and portrayed the protagonists of the life of the British Empire, among them General Charles George Gordon, who lost his life in Sudan. Among the series of exhibited portraits also persons with a civilian occupation appeared, like the Architect Miklós Ybl. His bust, devoid of all excess decoration, is a work by August Sommer ( 1839-1921 ), who was born in Coburg and worked in Vienna and Pest. From the production of the best Viennese medallists, the visitor could see the works of Joseph Daniel Böhm (1794-1865) and Anton Scharff (1845-1903) created for various anniversaries, for the unveiling of statues, and to the honour of men of distinction. The temporary exhibition complemented the Austrian and German section of the nineteenth-century permanent exhibition without a rupture, and provided the opportunity for the Museum to display a richer and more diversified survey of the art of these two nations. B. C. Translated by D. S. 1900: THE TURN OF THE CENTURY. EUROPEAN PRINTS AND DRAWINGS 1890-1914 OCTOBER 25, 2001 - FEBRUARY 24, 2002. GALLERY OF PRINTS AND DRAWINGS CURATOR OF THE EXHIBITION! ZSUZSA GONDA, ESZTER KARDOS The first show in a new exhibition series of the Department of Prints and Drawings aiming to present the art of different turns of centuries had chosen the years around 1900 as its theme (fig. 67). The quarter century preceding the outbreak of World War I is one of the most varied and exciting periods in the history of modern-time art. Diverse, often quite different styles and trends evolved side by side: While a group of the exhibits have strong ties with the 19th century, another group is connected to the avantgárdé movements of the 20th century. The variety characterizing the period derives mainly from the search of the artists' for new inspirations instead of centuries-old European traditions. It was perhaps the writers and poets who expressed most vividly that "the time of gentleness" gave way to "barbarism". The comprehensive label of Primitivism included the influence of Japanese and other exotic or tribal culmres, as well as the formal idiom of folk art and the appeal of drawings by children and mental patients. Most of the fifty-two artists represented in the show are chiefly known as painters. Drawing belonged to their everyday routine. The exhibits included sketches for paintings and self-contained, autonomous sheets. The case of prints is more complicated, because the technical requirements put the painters to the test. The "Gesamtkunst" trends around 1900, however, had a favourable impact on printmaking, too. The majority of painters were keen on designing furniture, ceramics or tapestries, and picked up the chisel or the etching needle just as eagerly. Until the mid-19th century, prints mainly had the function of reproduction. With the dissemination of photomechanical reproductive process, this role came to be questioned. The "original print" - that is, etchings, woodcuts and lithographs made by the artists