Szia Budapest Art: Margit Kovács - Ceramic art

Topics: Introduction * Life and Work * Impressions of Julius * Photographs of still existing ceramic art in Budapest * Sources, want to know more? and links

Introduction

Margit Kovács .... a great artist, sculptor and potter. Throughout her life she enriched Budapest with a variety of artworks, most of them is ceramic art. And these artworks deserve much more attention, because most people do not know that it is art made by Margit Kovács.

However, an overview which artworks she has made in Budapest and nowadays still can be found, was till now not to find on the Internet. After many walks and research by Julius, this overview is now to find at Szia Budapest. 
(Photo: still of a 1958 movie about Margit Kovács and made by Agoston Kollányi.  Photo from the website Filmkultura.hu)

Life and Work

Margit Kovács (Kovács Margit) was born on November 30, 1902 in Gyor. She died on June 4, 1977 in Budapest. Although Margaret had Jewish roots, she was not an active member and therefore she is buried on the "normal" Farkasrét cemetery in a very simple unadorned grave. During many years she has lived in one of the Jewish districts of Budapest: the apartment building on the corner of Pozsonyi út and the Budai Nagy Antal utca. A plaque (see picture) reminds at her.

Margaret began her studies in 1924 at the private Álmos Jaschik magániskolája. Though she wants become a graphic artist, she eventually chooses for ceramics. From 1926 to 1928 she continued her education at the Iparműveszeti Iskola and in 1928 she got lessons at the Herta Bücher kerámiaműhelye. This study was followed by a study at the Staatsschule für Angewandte Kunst in Munich. Other courses followed as at the Sèvres Porcelain factory (1933) where she learned the details and techniques of working with chamotte clay.
Her star was rising and already in 1928 she had her first exhibition in Budapest, followed by many others at home and abroad. She designed all kinds of ceramics such as statues, plaquettes and reliëfs. Her style was certainly till the 50s, different from later works: a lot of folk motifs, family life, biblical scenes. Her later work consisted more statues.

After her working life she donated her artistic work in 1972 to the Pest County Museum in Szentendre and in 1973 opened the museum in Szentendre dedicated to her work. A museum that still exists today and a visit is more than worthwhile.

Throughout her life she won numerous awards including in 1948 the Kossuth prize. She was also named an honorary citizen of both Győr and Szentendre and in 1996 she was awarded posthumously for the Magyar Örökség prize.

Budapest

After her first exhibition in Budapest (1928) she received, probably by the builders Denes es Eros (.. Denes and Eros, Imre), contracts for creating several reliëfs and other artworks for a number of buildings  which they be the executive builders. The name of this duo is stated in nearly every building for which Margit Kovács designed artworks in the 30s and 40s. The architects of the buildings are different, but both Lajos Kozma and István Hamor have designed these buildings. This series began in 1932 and ended possible in the forties.

The themes of her art in Budapest are very broad: from Mary with child to a plaque commemorating the siege of the Castle of Buda. Also many works with family life illustrations and biblical art like Adam and Eve.

Impressions of Julius

It is striking how few people Julius spoke with during the making of the photographs of the artworks, know that they were created by Margit Kovács. Certainly in terms of early work, which stylistically different from the later work and the statues she has designed. But the similarities between the artworks which she has created in the period from about 1932 to 1946 are striking. That only few people realize what the artistic value of these works are, shows by example the fact that one of the artworks partly is obscured by a false ceiling and a few other artworks urgently need restoration.

But all the artworks designed by Margit Kovács early in her career, are pearls and should deserve much more attention. Julius takes you gladly along on a walk along her artworks.

Photographs of still existing ceramic art in Budapest

A 100% overview of what Margit Kovács in Budapest on ceramic art has created and which  still exist, you won't find on this page. The following list is an overview of the artworks Julius  until now has photographed. From most other works, the location is known, but the artwork could not be photographed. This is particularly the case with the artworks in the collections of museums and ministries. If you want to know the addresses where the artworks are located in Budapest, you can ask Julius.

Sources, want to know more? and links

In compiling this page was the first source: the many walks in Budapest that help to establish links between buildings and artworks. It is not a detailed biographical description with an overview of everything she has done or designed. The page only shows her art in Budapest.

The following links may help you to learn more about this fascinating artist:
Kovács Margit Múzeum - Museum dedicated to the work of the artist which is located in Szentendre, Website is also in English.

Szoborlap - gives an overview of some of her works, also outside Hungary. Website is in the Hungarian language

Wikipedia - link to the Hungarian Wikipedia page about Margit Kovács

Recommended reading:
Margit Kovács by P. Brestyánszky. Published by: Kepzömüveszeti Kiadóvállata Alap, Budapest (1979). ISBN 963336181 8. 221 pages. A monography in Hungarian on Margit Kovács. Beautiful, good edition with lots of photos and a catalog part that unfortunately is not complete. In Budapest regularly to find in antiquarian bookshops.

(Last modification: October 15, 2012)