A World's Fair in Italy: Turin 1911

Zsolnay, Miklos


Name:	Zsolnay, Miklos
Gender:	Male
Birth:	1857, Pécs
Death:	1922, Reckawinkel
Description:	Miklos Zsolnay Jr. (1857-1922) served as President of the Executive Committee for the Pavilion of Hungary at the Exposition of Turin 1911. Miklos was the grandson of Miklos Szolnay Sr., who established the first Zsolnay ceramics factory in 1853, and the youngest son of Vilmos Szolnay. The Szolnay factory started as a brick factory, producing terracotta and earthenware pieces for building decoration. The factory became very successful under the management of Miklos's son, Vilmos Szolnay (1828-1900), who opened it up to the international markets via his participation to the World's Fairs in Vienna (1873) and Paris (1878). Vilmos experimented with different materials and techniques, settling on a new material "that stood somewhere between stoneware and porccelain" that he called "porcelain-faience" (Nefedova 59). Miklos Szolnay junior worked at his father’s side from the age of 16. He attended a vocational school (the Academy of Commerce and Industry) in Graz, Austria, and from 1897 he held the position of executive managing clerk, in charge of finances and trading. Following the sudden death of Vilmos in 1900, Miklos took over management and the proprietary rights of the factory, while the manufacturing part of the business was entrusted to his brothers in law, two artists proficient in matters of technology. Under Miklos' leadership, the factory expanded and established outlets in London and Paris, as well as Balkan markets. After the invention of eosin (a low-fire irridescent glaze) the Zsolnay ceramics became famous all over the world. Zsolnay designs are distinctive, while displaying numerous influences. Even though Hungary was under Ottoman rule for a relatively short period until 1686, the Turkish market remained important for Hungary. In 1877-78, Julia and Terez Zsolnay studied Persian and Indian ornamentation at the Osterreichisches Kunstgewerben Museum in Vienna, Austria, and the resulting items were displayed at the Paris World Exposition in 1878. In 1887-88 Miklos Szolnay traveled to Turkey, Syria and Egypt and the result was an increasingly strong Islamic influence on the Szolnay porcelain designs. Under Miklos Zsolnay Jr. the factory reached the peak of its international success, partnering with the best Hungarian architects and receiving awards in Hungary and abroad. In 1913, Miklos became a member of the Upper House of the Hungarian Parliament. Before getting married in 1911, he adopted the children of his sisters officially assigning to them the right of using his family name, securing for them, in this way, the right of inheritance. At the end of the First World War, Miklos Zsolnay suffered a nervous breakdown. In 1922, he died in the nursing home of Reckawinkel, in today's lower Austria. The factory continued to be managed by the Szolnay family until 1948 when it was nationalized and the production of decorative ceramics ceased. It was only in 1974 that the factory took the Zsolnay name again. For almost a century (1853-1948), the Zsolnay Porcelain Manufacturing Company of Pecs was owned by the Zsolnay family: "family members originated designs, supervised and trained ceramic workers, introduced stunning technical innovation in clay and glazes, and worked to promote the company in the international marketplace. by 1900 the spendid art ceramics of the Zsolnay manufactory, especially Art Nouveau pieces, had achieved highest recognition in world expositions throughout Europe and in the United States." (Soros 9). Though one may know the Zsolnay name for the magnificent Art Nouveau pieces, the Zsolnay's productions were eclectic, starting with the historicist pieces and contributions to the creation of a "national style" in the late nineteenth century and expanding into the architectural ceramics that still define the roofs and facades of numerous buildings in the city of Budapest today (for example, the Parliament Building and the Museum of Applied Arts). See: Éva Csenkey and Ágota Steiner, eds. Hungarian Ceramics from the Zsolnay Manufactory 1853-2001. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002. Olga Nefedova. "Early Zsolnay Porcelain-Faience im the Tareq Rajab Museum." Ceramics Monthly (Jan 2004). 58-60. Susan Weber Soros, Foreword. Hungarian Ceramics from the Zsolnay Manufactory 1853-2001. Eds. Éva Csenkey and Ágota Steiner. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002. 9-10.
Subjects:	People
Structures:	Pavilion of Hungary Hungary is so modern in aesthetic expression and so jealous of its national traditions. The pavilion is the most striking in the International exhibition: austere in its exterior, beautiful and bizarre inside, this building of noble proportions and harmonious coloring ... is reminiscent of India and Persia ... and inspired by antique Hungarian motifs. (Melani, 289) Named “King’s Attila Tent-Palace,” the Hungarian Pavilion was unanimously considered the “Pearl of the Exposition” and praised for its ability to evoke a sense of motion in a perfectly geometric structure. The designers’ aim was to give visual expression to the power of the Hungarian military tradition, underscore its relevance to the present, and celebrate the strong and determinate nature of the Hungarian nation and its people. Made of wood, the Pavilion of Hungary combined the Romantic vision of the Tent-Palace of ancient king Attila with the Modernist inspiration of its stern cubic blocks. Harmoniously fused in the pavilion, Romantic echoes and Modernist traits are the defining elements of Hungarian functionalism. The building is a mirror of the lively social and cultural situation of the Hungarian nation, and particularly Budapest, during the first decade of the twentieth century. The Pavilion of Hungary was located on the left bank of the river Po, next to the Main entrance on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and the Orto Botanico (botanical gardens). It was designed by Hungarian architects Emil Tőry, Móric (Maurice) Pogány, and Dénes Györgyi. An eclectic building, combining Art Nouveau elements with the features of National Romanticism, it covered 6000 square meters, and was considered "the pearl of the exposition." Le Eposizioni di Roma e di Torino nel 1911 descritte ed illustrate (volume 4, January 1911, 31) described the building under construction as "una costruzione eminentemente caratteristica, con decorazioni cromatiche in maiolica" (a remarkably characteristic building with colorful maiolica decorations"). The Mostra Forestale Ungherese was located next to the Pavilion. Interpretive Essays National Romanticism and the Hungarian Pavilion The Hungarian Pavilion: Exterior The Hungarian Pavilion: Interior
Places:	Pécs Pécs is one of the largest cities in Hungary. It is located in the south-west of the country, close to Croatian border. Pécs was settled by the Celts and the Romans, and was occupied by the Ottoman empire for 150 years. It holds the oldest university in the country, and is one of the major cultural centers in Hungary. Reckawinkel Rekawinkel is a town located in the region of Lower Austria - some 16 mi or 26 km West of Vienna, the country's capital.
Photographs:	Miklos Zsolnay_Ritratto \| Miklos Zsolnay_portrait