Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 18. (Budapest, 1999)
Zsuzsa H. BOGNÁR: About the Dining Room in the Buda Palace of Count Tivadar Andrássy - apropos of an armchair
9 Letter to József Rippl-Rónai from his brother Ödön: Somogyaszaló 1/5 1898 6pm My dear Jóska, Appalling impudence (as I read from what you say) has knocked even you off your chair. I warned you, didn't I, that Thék would abuse your trust - so I attempted to patent your original drawings with a number of patent offices, because I had my suspicions from the start from the correspondence with Thék (what a good thing that I had this). Since, at your request, I myself had to write to Thék to forbid him from deviating one jot from your designs - and I even warned him that if he wasn't going to take the work seriously, then we'd immediately give it to another craftsman. It is my belief that Thék opposed you in that jury - he didn't want the work to win if he couldn't get it (since he was a jury member) - but why??? — so that you shouldn't get a medal either, because then he would have no laurels for executing the original innovation. This is the type who gets to the top on the talents and discoveries of others. But as well as this the jury's mentality is illuminated by the choice that if there is no Roth then it should be Thék. If a workman were to make a "perpetuum mobile", would the success and the merit for this be his??. Idiots! But if Roth had won a gold medal, the poor old boy, who learnt so much to do with cabinetmaking from you and me would deserve 100 per cent more recognition than Thék himself. Even though he, poor thing, who is such an idiot in his own trade, would be alright, since at least we would then know that it was brute strength that was being rewarded, and not the creative artist. You see how justified my suspicion was - and you laughed whn I wanted to take out a patent on these drawings, and when I urged you to protect yourself by getting them registered at the Office of Commerce. Well, here's the result for you: I would petition the Minister of Culture to get this annulled - this is not a proper procedure and is based on a nonsense. I continue to warn you about your tapestry which the minister purchased for a 1000 forints for the Museum of Applied Arts - this, too, someone else will usurp, since only I read that someone will depict His Majesty on a tapestry (Budapesti Napló, 5 th inst.). Won't this be done using your discoveries?? I enclose herewith your correspondence with Thék - it reveals everything. Now only old Zsolnay is left - if he, too, appropriates your work, it would be best to abandon the enormous costs and anguish connected with applied art, because it's madness to waste your energies in such conditions. Please find enclosed the things I've hurriedly collected up. Let's hope for success — write immediately. Many greetings, Ödön The letter written in Hungarian is owned by the Archives of HNG Budapest. Inv. No.: 4777. 10 Lyka, Károly, in: Budapesti Napló, January 1, 1901. " Chair designs, RNM, Kaposvár, Inv. No.: 55.84., indigo print from the latter; paper, 210 x 340 mm. J. b.: Rónai 97 oct., and j. 1. : Rónai 97 oct., both from Ödön Rippl-Rónai's collection. The designs for the chairs that were not in the end made - eight different chairs with arms and chairs without on a single sheet — are "...variations on a theme", where the sketches betray a tentative seeking of the curve of the arm supports and of the angle of the back support and legs. On the basis of the order of the sketches, perhaps the artist thought that he had found the most suitable design in the last drawing (bottom right). 12 Malonyai, Dezső: Rippl-Rónai József. In: A fiatalok (The Young People). Budapest, 1906, pp. 180-220. 13 Aknai, Tamás: Rippl-Rónai biográfia és bibliográfia (Rippl-Rónai. Biography and Bibliography). Edited by Palmiro Togliatti County Library, Kaposvár, 1978 14 Kernstok, Károly: Rippl-Rónai József. In: Nyugat, 1928, pp 58, 61,62.
