Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 22. (Budapest, 2003)

Piroska ÁCS: Géza Maróti's Series of Drawings for a Planned Head Office of the National Association of Applied Arts in Hungary

NOTES 1 György Andocsi, "Az Orsz. M. Iparművészeti Társulat téli kiállítása". Magyar Iparművészet. ("The Winter Exhibition of the National Association of Applied Arts in Hungary". Hungarian Applied Arts.) 1923. p. 12. 2 As originally conceived, the exhibition was meant to introduce the entire furnished interior of a stately home of 18 rooms. Maróti designed the entrance and vestibule of the exhibition as well as the sculptural decoration of the 11metre high, central lounge surrounded by rooms. 3 The approximately four-metre tall brass sculpture had originally been ordered for the central projection of the Academy of Music by the designers of the latter, architects Flóris Korb and Kálmán Giergl. However, the sculpture came to be the emblem of Hungary's (two) pavilions at the 1906 Milan Exhibition. 4 See footnote I to page 12. 5 Gy. K. [Györgyi, Kálmán], "Iparművészeti intézményeink a proletárdiktatúra alatt: III. Az Országos Magyar Iparművészeti Társulat." Magyar Iparművészet. (The AppliedArts Institutions of Hungary under the Dictatorship of the Proletariat". Hungarian Applied Arts.) 1919. p. 65. 6 Among other things, a proposition was submitted to the minister of commerce to initiate a professional conference of all parties concerned including designers, artisans, and applied-arts retailers. Another initiative taken by the Association was to call on the National Fine Arts Association and the National Alliance of Hungarian Artists for the cooperation of every organization with a stake in the advancement of the arts. 7 "Az Iparművészeti Társaság köréből". Magyar Iparművészet. ("From the Circles of the Applied Arts Association". Hungarian Applied Arts.) 1920. p. 90. 8 The report of the meeting held by the Board of the National Association of Applied Arts in Hungary submitted for approval by the 36th, 1921, general assembly. Suggestions and Propositions. Magyar Iparművészet (Hungarian Applied Arts) 1921. p. 62. 9 The Archives of the Museum of Applied Arts, Inv. No. KRTF 6078/1-8. 10 In view of the antecedents, the name of Maróti as designer can be of little surprise. His activities in the Association as a young man are discussed above. At the age of 45 he was elected member of the management. He was an old friend and long-time acquaintance of Ignác Alpár and Kálmán Györgyi—at the beginning of his career, Maróti had made the sculptural decorations of bank buildings designed by Alpár; as for Györgyi, he had spent many a summer holiday next to Maróti's house in Zebegény, a village in the Danube bend. ("We made a custom of putting up posters in the village and sometimes on friends' houses, too. These posters featured large colour drawings made by ourselves, and we liked to put them out on a Sunday so that visitors could also see them.

... On a particular Sunday, a large poster glared on the gate of Kálmán Györgyi

's house announcing that 'Swimming pool tickets are available here'. To make things that much easier for Sunday excursion-makers, we even fixed to the gate a large, string-operated bell put together from parts bought at a flea-market. It took a good many pleas for swimming-pool tickets preceded by the ringing of the bell before Györgyi realised what had been stuck on his gate." "Lapis angularis IV" (the memoirs of Géza Maróti). Források a Magyar Építészeti Múzeum gyűjteményéből (Sources from the Collection of the Museum of Hungarian Architecture). Eds. Zoltán Fehérvári and Endre Prakfalvi. Budapest, 2002. p. 52. 11 The following year, in 1921, the square was named after Mór Jókai on account of the bronze statue placed in the square representing the famous writer in a sedentary position. In his design of 1920, Maróti identified Liszt Ferenc tér, a square across Andrássy út, as a point of departure. 12 Site plan. The Archives of the Museum of Applied Arts, Inv. No. KRTF 6078/1. Paper mounted on cardboard, graphite 21.5 by 81.5 cm. Inscription: Az Orsz. Magyar Iparművészeti társulat építendő székházának Liszt Ferenc téri elhelyezési vázlata 1:500 léptékben 2 mm = 1 mtr Budapest 1920 Maróti Géza Layout-plan for the planned-for head office of the Ntl. Association of Applied Arts in Hungary on a scale of 1:500 2 mm = 1 m Budapest 1920 Géza Maróti). 13 Main front. The Archives of the Museum of Applied Arts, Inv. No. KRTF 6078/2. Paper mounted on cardboard, graphite 27.5 by 31 cm. Inscription: Az Orsz. Magyar Iparművészeti társulat építendő székházának homlokzata 1:100 1920 Maróti (Main front of the planned-for head office of the Ntl. Association of Applied Arts in Hungary 1:100 1920 Maróti). 14 Side front. The Archives of the Museum of Applied Arts, Inv. No. KRTF 6078/3. Paper mounted on cardboard, graphite 23.7 by 52.5 cm. Inscription: Az Orsz. Magyar Iparművészeti társulat építendő székházának homlokzata 1:100 léptékben 1920 november 17-én Maróti Géza (Side front of the planned-for head office of the Ntl. Association of Applied Arts in Hungary in a scale of 1:100 Budapest 1920 Géza Maróti). 15 Longitudinal section. The Archives of the Museum of Applied Arts, Inv. No. KRTF 6078/4. Paper mounted on cardboard, graphite 23.7 by 52.5 cm. Inscription: Az Orsz. Magyar Iparművészeti társulat építendő székházának homlokzata 1:100 léptékben 1920 nov 15 Maróti Géza (Longitudinal section of the planned-for head office of the Ntl. Association of Applied Arts in Hungary on a scale of 1:100 Nov 15 1920 Géza Maróti). 16 Lower ground-floor. The Archives of the Museum of Applied Arts, Inv. No. KRTF 6078/5. Paper mounted on cardboard, graphite 53 by 27.8 cm. Inscription: „Az Orsz. Magyar Iparművészeti Társulat székházának vázlata. Lépték 1:100-hoz alacsony földszint iparművészek klubja 1920 Maróti" (Drawing of the head office of the Ntl. Association