Vadas József (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 12. (Budapest, 1992)

HORVÁTH Hilda: Marcel Jean textiltervei a Francia-Magyar Pamutipar RT számára

making textile patterns for two years in the factory, when he launched a private venture and sold his designs to various other textile companies in Budapest; this he did until die end of 1944. In 1945, after the "liberation" of Hungary, he left die country and went home to Paris via Turkey. While working for the French-Hungarian Cotton Industry Corporation, Marcel Jean became acquainted with two Hungarian painters: Magda Von, who was die factory designer at that time; and Tamás Lossonczy, who was working in the blue-dye workshop. He also met Mihály Schütz, a chemist, whose ancestors had been famous blue-dye artists in Hungary's Zala county. His warm, friendly relationship with the Schütz family encouraged die creative engineer to produce a special textile-dying procedure, which helped Jean's colourful motifs to appear in their original freshness on textiles. Apart from his colleagues in die factory, his friends were mainly writers and poets, for example, Gyula Illyés, Miklós Radnóti and István Vas. Textile designs meant a secure everyday living; but Jean also made several surrealistic drawings and objects during die war. For example, his small chest of drawers, named Arbre, was bought by the Museum of Modem Art in New York. He created and used his famous Armoire, a huge wardrobe with four doors, in his flat in Hattyú utca in Budapest. Each door of die wardrobe was painted with half-opened doors, revealing a landscape scenery in die background.'" He took some of his pictures and drawings widi him in 1945, but others were scattered and lost; some were looked after by the families of old friends.

11 During his stay in Budapest, he published Mnésiques, a volume of his collected essays, illustrated with three fantastic incredibly daring drawings.

12 This book brought him close to the philosopher Árpád Mezei, whom he met at Tamás Lossonczy

's. Their friendship was becoming warmer and deeper by this time; beside surrealism, Marcel Jean's oeuvre was deeply affected by the personality and philosophy of Mezei. They worked togetiier on several books, essays and studies.

13 On the other hand, after the end of World War II, Marcel Jean made the acquaintance of Dezső Korniss, Júlia Vajda-the widow of Lajos Vajda-, and Endre Bálint, whose special style was an interesting relative of nonfigurativc trends and surrealism, a picturesque mctamoqihose of folkloristic motifs. The artists of the European School, founded in Budapest in 1946 to promote modem artistic trends, elected Marcel Jean a honorary member. He visited Hungary with his wife again in 1947. During these few weeks he visited one of his best friends, Árpád Mezei, and gave an outline of French surrealist poetry in the Hungarian language, as part of a presentation series organised by the European School in die lecture hall of the Psychiatry Clinic. After this brief summary of Marcel Jean's Hungarian connections, we would like to introduce the designs he made in Hungary. They can be grouped into different categories on die basis of motifs, colours, composition and style. 1-11. Realistic /lower composition in bright colours*

4 1. KRTF 2184 20.5x17.7 cm, p.tempera, ink, white cover paint marked 2. KRTF 2188 23.5x23.5 cm p.tempera, ink marked 3. KRTF 2198 19.5x16.5 cm p.tempera marked 4. KRTF 2201 17.5x15.5 cm p.tempera unmarked 5. KRTF 2203 19.5x18 cm p.tempera, chalk marked 6. KRTF 2204 25.5x15.5 cm p.tempera marked