We are at number 10 with the Art Nouveau treasures around in town - this time we visit the Museum of Applied Art, a beauty on the ugly square of Corvin Negyed. Our favourite master, Ödön Lechner and Franz Joseph the "gipsy emperor" are important figures. And breaking news: the cupola of the cupola has been removed recently due to endangering passersby by falling into pieces...
The Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest was the third of its kind in Europe, built on the initiative of Flóris Rómer. Parliament in 1872 voted 50 000 Forints to allocate to the purchase of crafted objects, for next year’s world exhibition in Vienna, thereby laying the basis of the collection. György Ráth (1881-96) was put in charge of managing the material, which grew by means of private donations and purchases. Between 1874 and 1877 the National Museum gave home to the artefacts; they were showcased in the building’s staircases.
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| This Cupola is part of the past - it has been removed 2011 july |
The first opportunity for an own location arose in 1890, when a tender bearing the title: ‘Eastward Hungarian!’ was called for the design of a Museum. Ödön Lechner and Gyula Pártos won with their unusual plans. From afar the structure attracts with its colourful Zsolnay decorations, likewise, the fairytale ornaments of the entrance hall lure visitors in from close by. However, the unique aesthetic and novel design did not convince opponents; so it came to pass that by the end of the 1920s the splendid painting of the interior (the work of Károly Reissmann) was mercilessly whitewashed. Only two rooms and the windcatcher escaped the stern intrusion.
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The statue representing
ceramics
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Four allegorical figures surround the cupola, representing four branches of applied arts. One is holding a female torso (decorative sculpture), the second a jug (ceramics), the third a cast goblet (metalwork), and the final figure a bobbin (to refer to textile arts).
The palace spurred controversy from the first moments of its existence, nevertheless, its significance as an Art Nouveau work, both on an international scale and in the oeuvre of Lechner stands beyond dispute. Though an early manifestation, it exemplifies the decorative urge of the style. Lechner himself acknowledged that his design perhaps turned out ‘too Indian’ in its effect. The papers of the time tagged Franz Joseph the ‘Gipsy Emperor’, when he personally handed over the building as part of the official events of the 1896 millennial celebrations.
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| Franz Joseph with his unique moustache |
Artefacts in the museum provide an overview of all genres of international and Hungarian crafts, from the Middle Ages to the present. Visitors get a glimpse of the richness of aristocratic lifestyle, the subtlety of bourgeois collections, the refinement of bygone eras.
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Openin hours: Tuesday-Sunday: 10.00-18.00 Monday: closed
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