Gömöry Judit – Veszprémi Nóra - Szücs György szerk.: A Művészház 1909–1914, Modern kiállítások Budapesten (A Magyar Nemzeti galéria kiadványai 2009/2)

FÜGGELÉK - András Gerő: Cultural Aspects of the Turn-of-the-Century Monarchy

CULTURAL ASPECTS OF THE TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY MONARCHY (SUMMARY) ANDRÁS GERO The Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, established with the constitutional Compromise (Ausgleich) of 1867, marked a period of modernization, industrialization, and cultural renewal in the history of Hungary. By the beginning of the twentieth century, networks of the new economic, health and cultural offices, as well as institutions of work and leisure, such as cafés and editorial offices with considerable influence on the cultural scene, were operating effectively. As a result, the way of life of the middle class gradually adjusted to the Western European standards. Citizens regarded this period, lasting until the First World War, as long years of peace and prosperity, and as a similar phenomenon in Central Europe to that of the Victorian era in England. However, the Monarchy as a multilingual Empire, aiming beyond the interest of nationalism, was suffering from inner uncertainty and divergence. Therefore, from as early as the time of its establishment, it was destined for disintegration. The cultural and linguistic intermingling could be traced primarily in the mam cities of the Monarchy, and especially in the daily life of the two capitals, Vienna and Budapest. These cities were offering true multicultural scenes: apart from the former national identities, new types of identities emerged. The multicultural aspects of the everyday life may be illustrated best by the richness of the gastronomic culture of the time. On the other hand, the dichotomy of order and slovenliness, modernity and historicity, and esprit de corps and individualism was pervading all aspects of life. This was the reason why many felt the discrepancy between ideals and reality. Citizens were living in a state that offered steady institutional framework with rather predictable circumstances, but did this without any individual attachment. This gave rise to the well-known fin-de-siècle phenomena and feelings: artists, such as Gustav Klimt or Lajos Gulácsy, were longing for myths and were embracing dreams; others, such as the Wiener Werkstätte and the Gödöllő Art Colony, rejected industrial manufacture and founded communities producing crafts. In literature, this feeling can be traced in the emerging critical voice of Karl Kraus and Endre Ady, or in the amusing irony of Jaroslav Hasek and Frigyes Karinthy. The atmosphere in the Monarchy enabled, and indeed favoured discerning the dual nature of modernity: its citizens could experience both the harmony and the tension of the era simultaneously. Translated by Gyöngyvér Horváth.