Museum of Applied Arts, 20 November 2014 – 27 August 2015

Text: Lilla Zámbó

Museum of Applied Arts in the Age of Millennium

Ödön Lechner (1845–1914), one of the greatest figures in Hungarian architecture, and certainly its most original, deserves a prominent place among the international talents from the turn of the century. This exhibition presents the whole scope of the work of the architect. Special attention is paid to five major works, nominated for UNESCO World Heritage Site status: the Kecskemét City Hall, the parish church of Budapest-Kőbánya, the Museum of Applied Arts, the Institute of Geology, and the Postal Savings Bank. Visitors can familiarise themselves with these through the architect’s original plans and drawings, as well as period and modern photographs. Working drawings of the ornaments so crucial to Lechner’s work, the publications which inspired him, and examples of the Zsolnay ceramic in which they were realized are also presented. One of the rooms evokes the world of the Japan Coffee House, Lechner’s second home, another accommodates a panoramic movie of his major works.