Debt of a Century, Prolonged

Text: György Szegő
 
The greatest master of Hungarian Art Nouveau, Ödön Lechner was born on August 17th, 1845. Now, in 2020 we are celebrating his 175th birthday. Celebrations like this are supposed to be associated with births, but as the evaluation of Art Nouveau and its “Hungarian form” are contradictory even today, so it is well worth using the date of his death (June 10th, 1914) as apropos for his recognition. The 2014/8. issue of the periodical Hungarian Architecture contains excerpts of an essay written for this centenary that we found worthwhile to publish on the occasion.