Imre Jakabffy (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 3. (Budapest, 1975)

KOÓS, Judith: Some Hungarian masters of the goldsmith's art of the Art Nouveau

hinges. Both sides of the folding part — forming the front side of the bracelet —, on a base of filigree ornamentation, are embellished with convex green leaves and lilaccoloured flowers. The green enamel motive of the fine leaf ornamentation continues also among the gems, on both sides. The designer of the bracelet discussed here is Gyula Háry, a painter who carried on an important activity in the field of applied arts. Similarly to the trends of the Art Nouveau, there were such painters, sculptors and architects also in Hungary, who were significant supporters and active practisers of the new aspirations in the applied arts. Besides the painter József Rippl Rónai (1801-1927), the sculptor Fülöp Ö. Beck (1873-1945) and the architect Géza Maróti (1875— 1941) — and others — exactly the master mentioned above was one of the most eminent representatives of this tendency. The activity of Samu Hibján has so far been discussed unsatisfactorily in professional literature.

4 On the occasion of his death there appeared reviews on him, but in the new Hungarian goldsmith's art within the framework of the Art Nouveau his merits, his activity in the field of enamel art carried on an European level, have not yet received their due appreciation. The other eminent Hungarian goldsmith is Oszkár Tarján (Huber) (1875- 1933).

5 His activity was similarly significant in the field of enamel art. At the Budapest School of Applied Arts he was the pupil of Antal Lorántfi, then he received his further education in Munich. In Paris, just like his contemporary Samu Hibján, he visited René Lalique, the greatest jewel artist of the French Art Nouveau, whose works influenced his activity. In the activity of Oszkár Tarján his enamelled jewels and goldsmith's works of ecclesiastical designation are conspicuous. His early works showed in the beginning a historizing eclectic tendency, but at the turn of the century the intertwining of the Art Nouveau stylistic tendencies with the Hungarian popular decorative motives is typical of his works in the field of enamel art. The popular and national tendency of the new Hungarian enamel art was worked out experimentally by Oszkár Tarján, Samu Hibján and Pál Horti, taking into consideration the European tendencies of the Art Nouveau. In connection with this we must refer to the fact that in the second half of the last century, when the eclectizing stylistic tendencies of historism appeared also in goldsmith's art, together with the revival of the old forms not only the formal but also the technical solutions of the old Hungarian goldsmith's art came into prominence. This initiative, as well as the importation of insipid foreign works to the Hungarian market strengthened and increased those experiments of new type in the field of enamel art, which were carried on by the three artists. Individually, and also collectivelly — like Samu Hibján and Pál Horti — they studied partly the old Hungarian, especially Transylvanian, and partly the foreign, e.g. the Limoges enamel works and on the basis of this they brought about the new pieces of the translucid enamel art. One of the conspicuous pieces of this tendency is the picture of a young woman in the collection of the Budapest Museum of Applied Arts by Samu Hibján (fig. 4.).

e This picture represents in semi-profile a young, beautiful-faced woman, who covers her head and shoulder with a blue, goldfringed shawl shot with gold. The pale, finely shaded face and the blue shawl framing the dark hair plastically emerge from the golden brown background. The painted enamel picture prepared in the Limoges manner is closed down by a copper frame with fine engraved ornamentation. According to the former expert description of the Museum, it