Page 455 [455]
MÓNIKA PILKHOFFER
Huszka’s work greatly influenced Ödön Lechner (1845-1914) who
consciously looked for possibilities to be free from the shackles of Historicism
he acquired in Berlin. Studying Hungarian folk art took him to the art of the
peoples of Asia. The most prominent example of this was the edifice of the
Museum of Applied Arts of which Lechner himself declared it became “a bit
too Indian”.??
Mi
ee
Lechner, Ödön: Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest, 1896.
The glazed ceramic items produced in the Zsolnay factory of Pecs, the brick
stripes appearing on his later buildings, the application of decorative borders
drawing their design from the ribbon motifs of the traditional herding vest,
resulted in modern architecture through the expression of national identity.
National style, however, was regularly beaten in design competitions by
the concurrent competitors of Historical style, thus Lechner designed less
and less. In 1906 he produced his ars poetica entitled “Ihere has been no
Hungarian architectural language, but there will be”.
An interesting difference of opinion unfolded in relation to national style
between the most prominent Hungarian and Austrian architects of the
Monarchy. Otto Wagner claimed Hungarian national style had no relevance
since artistic expressions ought to be uniform throughout the Monarchy
2 Ödön Lechner: Önéletrajzi vázlat, in László Pusztai — Andras Hadik (eds.): Lechner Ödön
1845-1914 emlékkiállítás a művész születésének 140. évfordulójára, Budapest, O.M.F.
Magyar Építészeti Múzeuma, 1995, 9.
23 Ibid., 12-16.
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