Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 27. (Budapest, 2009)

Events 2008

central-European emergence of an important form of the Italian luxury crafts, the art of majolica. The curator of the exhibition, Gabriella Balla selected intact objects from the collections of the Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche in Faenza and the Museo Civico in Pesaro as analogues to fragmentary pieces unearthed in Hungary. In addition, numerous other pieces were shown from several Hungarian and foreign collections, including private collections in Hungary and in Italy. The greatest sensation of the exhibition was the display of three of the so-called Corvinus-dishes (from the Metropolitan Museum, New York, the Phoebe E. Hearst Museum, Berkeley and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London), which are decorated with the coat of arms of King Matthias and Queen Beatrice, and were likely made as wedding presents for them in Pesaro around 1476. A catalogue was published both in Hungarian and in English, edited by Gabriella Balla (in case of the English edition, assisted by Zsombor Jékely, coordinator of the exhibitions of the Renaissance Year in the Museum). The making of the exhibition was greatly aided by the work of retired curator of the Ceramics department, Eva Csenkey, as well as by many others. The exhibition was opened on March 25, where - after a welcoming speech by our director - László Harsányi, President of the National Cultural Fund gave a speech, and prof. Gian Carlo Bojani, chief advisor of the exhibition introduced the material on view and the Renaissance culture of Pesaro. In a room adjoining this exhibition, a selection was displayed from other Renaissance objects of the museum, including later majolica objects, such as 16* century majolica floor utilizing a geometric design by Leonardo da Vinci, as well as four surviving pieces of the so-called Medici Tapestries. A bilingual catalogue introducing the latter pieces was published, written by András Szilágyi, Réka Semsey and Balázs Semsey, titled Medici Tapestries - "Giuochi di Putti". Furthermore, the Renaissance rooms at the permanent furniture exhibition in the Castle Museum of Nagytétény - a branch of the Museum of Applied Arts - were embellished with additional Renaissance objects, including majolica dishes, stove tiles and Haban ceramics, all of which were explained to visitors with the help of guide sheets. The pieces were selected and arranged by Erzsébet Vadászi and Ildikó Kálosi. Also in Nagytétény, a special exhibition of Renaissance goldsmith works was displayed, featuring 22 pieces including jewels, clocks, small bronzes, utensils and decorative objects. A catalogue written by the organizers of the exhibition - Eva Békési, Ildikó Pandúr and István Simonyi - includes a study by Simonyi as well as photos and descriptions of every object. The Museum of Applied Arts contributed a number of loans to other Renaissance exhibitions held during the year (in particular to the exhibition on Hungarian Late Renaissance at the Hungarian National Gallery), and our colleagues also wrote in several of the catalogues published in conjunction with these projects. The exhibitions of the Renaissance Year were very well received by the public and by critical forums as well. The annual Long Night of the Museums (June 21) was also planned in the spirit of the Renaissance. Organized together with the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, and titled MOME Marathon, the night saw a long series of performances and installations, all re-interpreting objects, motifs and ideas from the Renaissance exhibitions of the Museum. 186