ZSUZSA FARKAS
Reproductions in a Sculptor's Estate from the 1870s: Anna Christ's Photographs o f Ferenc Kugler's Statues
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In the middle of the 19 century, reproductions of artworks sold at museums and shops were still graphically made prints: their prototypes being either drawings made on the spot or, increas ingly, photographs. It is common knowledge that, hardly had da guerreotypes been invented, fixing images of objects on plates immediately began to spread, and, owing to specialization, the field of reproduction of artworks developed from daguerreotypes showing still lifes of objects. As a result of the new technology, first of all, the stock of objects in museums changed: all collec tions were redoubled due to reproductions. Artworks came to new life in photographic images as they became moveable, uniform and easy to handle. Costly photograph series made in museums were on sale in albums and by the piece in Paris and the art-dealer shops throughout the capital cities of Europe. People encountered a new type of sight in (art) objects reappearing on plates; and the knowledge of reproductions came deemed a measure of education. Around 1860, the small (9x12 cm), albumin "visit card" be came the most prevalent format. The technological innovation of photography brought about rapid development in the various scholarly disciplines, too. Large-scale and expert recording of his torical monuments and objects began to evolve, which resulted in a radical turning point in the history of scholarship. Photographs producing precise likenesses led to the advance of efficient com parative analyses, opened up new perspectives in research, and helped art history develop into a science. th
In the 19 century, reproduction also ushered a genuine revo lution in the public accessibility of works of art. On the one hand, it helped the study of the relationship between art objects; on the other, it fostered the scholarly processing and cataloguing of ob jects acquired by museums. Earlier drawings of art objects did not provide a unified view, because certain elements: inscriptions, pat terns, diagrams were depicted in a more focussed, more "precise" way than in reality. In contrast, however, the photograph faith fully reproduced whatever could be fixed on a negative in evenly distributed light without magnification or distortion. A new type of document came into being due to photographic reproduction: it recorded not a certain object, not what was significant about it, but its sight itself, primarily its form, not its details. Photographic reproductions were immensely successful: they were easy to send, replace, handle, buy, etc., and soon pushed other techniques of re production into the background. We only have scattered archival sources, association and acad emy reports, on the beginnings of reproduction in Hungary from 1840. Photographic reproduction took the lead until the develop-
1. Unknown painter: Portrait of Ferenc Kugler, mid-1860s. HNG Archive
ment of photomechanical technologies in the 1880s. It is between these two dates that research can focus primarily on object pho tography. This field meant a most important source of income for photographers, publicity and means of advertising for artists, as well as a way of promoting permanent or temporary exhibitions for museums. In this period, all art objects were reduplicated: plas ter replicas were made of museum objects, oil copies of paintings, then graphically made prints followed, and last came photographic albums. A cheap, though, in the want of colour, virtual museum came into being. The study of the fine-arts material of the period has revealed that statues in public spaces were often as not left out of such al bums, for they were far from the traditional category of art-object 1
photography. Rather, on-the-spot photography of sculptures was regarded as belonging to taking shots of cityscapes, and was based on the methods of taking photographs of historical monuments. A l l this prompted me to introduce the reproductions in a lesserknown sculptural estate now in the possession of the National Gallery. M y guiding thread in this endeavour was a highly im portant photo in the estate that depicts the environment of the art works: the magical, 19 -century world of the Beleznay Gardens and the photographic and the sculptural studios there. The spe cific field of studio architecture also became an emphatic element in my study, because the designs for the sculptural studio of Pál Ferenc Kugler (1836-1875) have happened to come down to us. The way I attempted to organize the data that 1 had collected on studios for the purposes of comparative analysis was by men tioning their sources only in the footnotes. In 1965, Gyula Soós published an excellent study on the Sopron-born sculptor Pál Ferenc Kugler in the journal Soproni Szemle. The diligent scholar collected the artist's works, processed the data of his exhibitions and their press coverage of the period. On the basis of his researches, we know that Kugler had displayed five statues at the exhibitions of the Arts Associa tion (Műegylet) between 1862 and 1865. Soós had the opportu nity of publishing only six reproductions, but did refer to the Kugler material held by the Sculpture Department of the National Gallery. (The data of the 13 statues in its stock are listed in the Appendix). He knew the Kugler documents in the Archive of the th
2. János Tiedge: The Kugler Family, 1858. HNG Archive
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3. Anna Christ: The Photographer's Studio, c. 1870. HNG
National Gallery and the collection of reproductions at the Sculp ture Department, but made no use of them. (Though he was actu ally interested in photos: it was among the reproductions in the Storno Collection that he had chanced upon a photo of Kugler's plaster made for the Széchenyi statue competition.) A l l in all, we have over thirty "new" reproductions, which show at least fifty works, and, through their help, we can learn more about the whole oeuvre.
history. The sculptor Ferenc Kugler and the photographer Anna Christ lived and worked in the same place, a lonely quarter of the Beleznay Gardens; the photos that have come down from them attest their good relationship. It is worth outlining the history of this interesting locality. From the 18 century, the Grassalkovich and then the Beleznay families owned a palace and the surrounding gardens here; within the gardens there was another smaller mansion at the corner of what is today Rákóczi út and Puskin utca. Beyond the Hatvan Gate (Hotel Astoria today), it was outside the borders of Pest. The Beleznay family having died out, the park was made into a royal free city excursion site, fully open to the public. Separated from the university Botanical Gardens by a wall, several makeshift stalls and booths were put up to provide entertainment. Between 1853 and 1865, there seem to have always been some temporary buildings, circuses, riding halls, etc. there, but these were pulled down for good when the park was laid out. The Beleznay Gar dens (on Kerepesi út, now Rákóczi út) were altered several times, when, in 1867, the park itself was turned into a dining and enter tainment hall. The so-called little rococo mansion in the park housed various theatrical and operatic companies. Instead of the temporary club, Gábor Parragh hired Károly Hild to build an im posing pavilion in the front section of the park in 1870. Several descriptions of the restaurant and the vibrant life of the area (a scene of political rallies and meetings) have come down to us. th
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4. Anna Christ: The Photographer's Studio (detail), c. 1870. HNG
After studies at the Vienna Academy and in Rome, Kugler set tled down in Budapest in 1865, and died there in 1875. Hungar ian critical reception was all but indulgent to the young master, his works being continually pitted against the works of the virtuoso Miklós Izsó. According to certain family records, he committed suicide because of the scathing criticism he had received. The Kugler papers in the Archive of the National Gallery include 24 written documents, among them: his birth certificate, family pa pers, invitations, mourning cards, invoices, his award of citizen ship, his royal appointment, his will, and his marriage contract. Many papers of the Sopron Kugler family are extant, from fam ily documents in Latin to the appointment of Heinrich Kugler as an Imperial and Royal Court Confectioner. The Archive also pre serves a small-scale portrait of Ferenc Kugler by an unknown artist. (111. 1) The documents on the Kugler family provide no information on the life of the sculptor, but the family picture by the Pest pho tographer János Tiedge is a genuine rarity. (111. 2) Taken in 1858, all eight sons line up behind their mother and father and their only sister Mária. The representative photo was regarded as embody ing a middle-class ideal, and so was reproduced. The 11 photographs attached to the papers are of personal na ture. Among them are an oval portrait of Ferenc Kugler, a finely finished version of which is also in the photo collection of the Hungarian National Museum. There is also a group photo of twenty young men taken outdoors, which is probably related to Kugler's Academy years in Vienna. He also had a shot made of himself in the company of six young men at a photographer's stu dio. The reproduction of his grandmother's, Barbara Kugler's (née Leinberger) relief portrait is a masterpiece of Ferenc Kozmata's Kristóf-tér studio in the heart of Pest. The photographic teacher Károly Koller made the relief portrait of Kugler's parents in his Harmincad-utca studio. The representative studio of Lipót Strelisky in Dorottya utca took the picture of the cake counter de sign for Henrik Kugler's confectionery, in the middle of which stood a statue of Hungária Ferenc Kugler made of icing sugar. The other half of the estate of Ferenc Kugler went to the SculpUire Department of the National Gallery. Actually, this is the ma terial that includes significant data with regard to photographic 4
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Without the city walls, in these lively grounds of "country" life, two modest art studios were also built, which were accessi ble from Ötpacsirta utca (today Puskin utca) and through the inner yard of the Beleznay mansion. In 1867, Jakab Christ requested permission from the Pest Building Committee to build a photo graphic studio. The studio was built according to Antal Gottgeb's plans on the corner of Kerepesi út and Ötpacsirta utca. On the basis of the inscriptions on the backs of photographs, we know that, between 1868 and 1870, Anna Christ ran the studio together with János Fájth (the former partner of the painter Miklós Barabás, who had experimented with photography), but later did so on her own until 1882. Kugler moulded the photographer lady as an allegorical fig ure: her kindly smiling bust portrait was placed above the entrance of the studio, and slightly tilted sideways so as to be clearly seen 16
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5. Pál Schusbeck: Design for Ferenc Kugler's studio. Budapest, Municipal Archive
6. Anna Christ: The Allegory of the
7. Doctor and Kozmata: The Bust of Gyula
8. Kozmata and associate: The Bust of
Photographer Woman by Ferenc Kugler,
Andràssy by Ferenc Kugler, 1871. HNG
Countess Andràssy by Ferenc Kugler,
1867. HNG
1871. HNG
from Ötpacsirta utca. (Ills. 4, 6). The emphasis on female features was hardly accidental, few women undertook to learn all aspects of the craft of photography and to operate a studio. We know of many a woman who deftly and skilfully helped her husband run his enterprise, and, after his death, either her or the family took over the management of the shop. Women would usually not put their full names on the backs of the photos, but the Pest public were quick to learn whom the initials stood for. The first woman photographer the press of the day called attention to was Karolina Werner, who managed her studio at 13 Hatvani utca between 1858 and 1861. In 1863, Rozália Büki Fejér set up her own enterprise, and had her own studio built at 12 Soroksári út. Anna Guichard had a short appearance on the photography stage, while Anna Halász managed several shops, and ran one without interruption at 65 Kerepesi út between 1865 and 1900. There were several women photographers working in the country, too, most notably Leopoldina Dohnányi of Nagyszombat (today Trnava in Slova kia), who operated her studio between 1865 and 1880, and Emma Vancza (Mrs Forst) of Miskolc, who had an excellent enterprise at the so-called Dark Gate of the city between 1870 and 1908. Lit tle is known of the life and activities of the first women photog raphers. As far as the fourteen-year-long career of Anna Christ is concerned, hardly anything appears about her in the press of the day; the reason being that there were over forty photographic stu dios working in Pest at the time. Neither does the photo collection of the National Museum provide any interesting detail, for it holds but ten perfectly wishy-washy portraits photographed by her. In the Kugler estate, however, there is a most extraordinary photo by Anna Christ, which clearly shows the glass structure of her studio, the wooden gates through which customers wanting to be photographed entered the garden. (111. 3) Obviously, a dec 17
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orative trade-sign advertised the enterprise. Above the wall sur rounding the garden, a lamplighter putting on street lights is seen. The photo is a rarity because few close-up shots showing the special architectural characteristics of photographic studios are extant from the 1860s. We know the designs for and the archival material of Anna Christ's atelier, but there is no space here to dwell on its architectural analysis. Ferenc Kugler submitted his request to the Pest Council Build ing Committee for a permission to build his sculptural studio on November 3, 1868. Apart from the seasonal studios of József Engel and Miklós Izsó in the period between 1860 and 1870, we have no information on specific studios in Pest. There were three stone-cutter shops built in the city in 1865, and one in 1866, but, naturally, these were commissioned by craftsmen, not sculptors. Kugler's studio was designed by the architect Pál Schusbeck. (111. 5) Fortunately, a little map was added to the plan of the building to show its position in the garden. It is quite clear from this that the inner yard was surrounded by buildings. Anna Christ's studio was near the inner yard, but its entrance was off the beginning of Ötpacsirta utca, and, behind it, a two-storey house rose. The sculp tor's studio was in the middle of the larger yard in the back, and its entrance was also off Ötpacsirta utca according to the plan. It had an entrance hall and two rooms, with door-windows opening onto the garden. The council decision ordered the modification of the plan, shifting the building back from the street line by about six feet so that it would have no direct entrance from the street. According to the reasons adduced, a temporary building placed in this way would not disturb aesthetically the overall picture of the area. What we know of Ferenc Kugler's studio is that it was turned into the photographic atelier of Simon Csonka in 1873. The extent to 22
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9. Anna Christ: Statue of Jesus Christ in Ferenc Kugler's studio, ca. 1870 (Franciscan abbey). HNG
10. Anna Christ: Statue of Jesus Christ in Ferenc Kugler's studio, ca. 1870 (the Wenzel family tomb). HNG
which it was rebuilt by the architect Farnek József is unknown, the plans have disappeared, the papers concerned mention the mere fact of the request for permitting the reconstruction. It seems that the rapid development of the area around the Beleznay Gardens facilitated the operation of two photo studios side by side. In 1882, however, Anna Christ sold her studio to Simon Csonka, who was the owner of five studios on Kerepesi út in the period between 1860 and 1899. With regard to these so-called impromptu sculptor studios of the mid-19 century, I would like to call attention to three data that may be interesting due to their subject matter. József Engel built a studio in the garden of the National Race Course in 1868, and, with the help of architect Béla Haliczky moved to 17 Futó utca. The fine design of the building with glass walls has come down to us. In 1872, a two-storey sculptural workshop was built at what is now 9 Klauzál utca, but its user is unknown. The no table sculptor Miklós Izsó had a studio built at 20 Rózsa utca in 1874, but could only use it for a short while because of his un timely death a year later. Painters had no need of special build ings, as they could work and receive their clients in any well-lit room. Viktor Madarász was the first Pest painter who had a stu dio house built for himself upon returning from Paris in 1869. Alas, neither the plans for this house, nor the request for the per mit to build it have survived, the only source being the record made of it by the Building Committee.
about fifty sculptures; now, these can be eked out by the newly found reproductions. There is no space here to discuss his whole oeuvre, all we can do is publish the reproductions of the eight yet unknown works and the statue of the poet Sándor Petőfi in his studio garden. Kugler made thirty effigies, and we know only the names of some of their commissioners; the photographs, how ever, show unknown persons, and their identification seems impossible. In the photograph by Anna Christ, there is a bust of the politi cian Ferenc Deák on one side of the garden path. Two of its plas ter copies are in the collection of the National Gallery, and its marble versions are in the Sopron city hall and the assembly hall of the Academy of Sciences. On the other side of the path, we see a bust of Sándor Petőfi moulded for Kiskunfélegyháza in 1867. The artist had used a portrait made in the 1840s, and the press of the day emphasized its "lifelikeness". It depicts the poet in less of a state of frenzy than Miklós Izsó's statue with its up-turned eyes and ruffled hair more attractive for both the eye and the emotions. The busts of Count and Countess Gyula Andràssy were pho tographed in the studios of Doctor and Kozmata and Kozmata and Associate. The associations of studios can be separated on the basis of advertisements at the time; we can thus infer that Andrássy's portrait found its way into the photographic studios in 1867, and his wife's portrait in 1868. The artist sculpted the mar ble versions in 1871. (Ills. 7-8)
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To return to our point of departure, according to the data col lected by Gyula Soós, the oeuvre of Ferenc Kugler numbers
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In the other photograph by Anna Christ, we see the statue of Jesus conferring blessings, which stood in another corner of Kug ler's studio. It was upon this mould, he carved the tomb of the Wenzel family in Carrara marble in the cemetery in Kerepesi út. (111. 10). Round the statue, there are reliefs with diameters of 40 cm, but only the effigy of Ferenc Pulszky can be identified, the other five depict unknown persons. At the foot of the Jesus statue, we see the bust of Franz Liszt (1865), now an important, muchappreciated piece in the permanent 19 -century exhibition of the National Gallery. After the death of the artist, the effigies of Petőfi and Liszt went to the confectioner Heinrich Kugler, who set them up in his house as attested by a photo. They found their way into the Museum of Fine Arts from the estate of János Kugler in 1924. Finally, the Christ photo shows, at the foot of the Jesus sculpture, the bust of a crowned female figure - Queen Elizabeth. Known from a report by Műcsarnok, Kugler planned to mould the Queen in 1869, and hoped his request to do so would be supported by the high offices in charge. The artist has the prospect of Her Majesty sitting for him to make her bust," as the art magazine of the day put it. Though the fate of the sculpture is unknown, this is an interesting adage to the cult of Queen Elizabeth already evolving in her lifetime. In the following, I shall only discuss the reproductions con cerning which I have been able to unearth other data. Following Kugler's death in 1875, the Association of Fine Artists exhibited his statute entitled Flora, which the press praised but did not find particularly excellent. The critic of the Fővárosi Lapok put it even more sharply: it is a work without expression or ideal grace. In this documentation, it is a small visit photo that preserved it in its then current condition. Gyula Soós mentions that the statue called Genius and a genre piece entitled Child with Goose were lost. However, large-scale (cabinet) photos were made of them both. According to the em bossed seal on the oval photo of the latter, it was taken by the Sopron master Sándor Tiefbrunner. Finally, we have an architectural sculpture to mention: there used to be a larger than life-size angel on the Angel Pharmacy at the corner of Hőgyes út and Üllői út, but it was destroyed when the house was demolished in 1958. In the photo by Anna Christ, the angel with its smiling baroque face is seen in the studio, and, on the table behind it, there is the sketch the commissioner had authorized it with. (111. 11) Reproductions often help us learn about interesting works of art, even though they might flood us with superfluous or acci dental information. One of the masterpieces of Kugler was a re lief for official representation purposes commissioned by Zsigmond Ormós, the Lord Lieutenant of Temes County (other wise a notable art critic). The piece fixed on the wall of the vestibule of the city hall depicts the visit to the town by Emperor and King Franz Joseph in 1872; among its sixteen figures, Pan nónia confers her blessings on those gathered. We know the work from a reproduction in István Berkeszi's book. It may be sur mised of other works of his that, had we reproductions of them, the negative picture that has been formed of the artist would be modified. This is particularly true of the Jesus and Mary compo sition in St. Michael's church, Sopron. There is another statue we only know by way of description: a German poet commissioned a standing statue of Sándor Petőfi wearing his military uniform and with his sword in hand. The series of ten relief portraits be42
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11. Anna Christ: Angel by Ferenc Kugler, ca. 1875. HNG
It was Kugler's selling his studio or moving to Vienna that prompted Anna Christ to take two excellent photos of it - perhaps for estate purposes (?). In both, the interior of the sculptor's stu dio is seen with his masterpieces: his statues of Jesus Christ in the centre and various art objects around them. The size of the Jesus Christ statue can be estimated from the so-called Pulszky relief behind, which is in the possession of the National Gallery (its height being 100 cm.) (111. 9). The artist began to work on its first variations in 1868, and then made the 2-metre one." The plaster cast went to the Franciscan abbey in Pest, while its marble ver sion stood in the cemetery in Kerepesi út, it had probably been commissioned by the Putnoky family. There are a number of recognizable works in the photo, for ex ample: the model of the Petőfi portrait mentioned, the competition work for the Vörösmarty statue, which once belonged to the col lection of Hungarian Academy of Sciences. At the foot of the Jesus statue, there is a relief portrait of a woman in marble, now also in the National Gallery. There is no difficulty in identifying the relief made for the family of Ferenc Pulszky (politician, art historian and director of the Hungarian National Museum) and the copy of a female nude in alabaster. There is also a significant sculpture on the left of Jesus, which the monographer does not mention. This is the bust of Lajos Batthyány, prime minister after the revolution in 1848, which the artist made on the occasion of the transfer of the ashes of the deceased to a new tomb. In smallscale versions, this was on sale in the Pest art-dealer shop of Bernát Fekete. 38
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queathed to the Kassa museum was also unique in its kind. In the order of exhibition, they depicted following: Zsigmond Ormós, Ferenc Pulszky, the painters Soma Orlai (Petrich), Viktor Mada rász, Mór Than and Károly Lötz, the sculptor József Engel, as well as three unknown men, and these were eked out by a plaster bust of Franz Liszt. That Kugler was a talented artist is also attested by his two Jesus statues, which, due to his education in Rome, represent the classical tradition as defined by the work of Canova. The Associ ation of Fine Artists had exhibited one of them, and the artist had to read in the papers not only that it was no good, but that the critic of the Fővárosi Lapok found it dreadful. As far as the rules of an academic learning permitted, Kugler's busts and relief portraits were in the vein of realistic representa tion. It was difficult, even impossible, to distance oneself from the strict canon, or break the fetters of convention. From 1865, his busts had a positive reception, but were gradually eclipsed from 1870. In 1871, the National Museum offered him the op portunity to display his statues Hercules, Sophocles and Gladia tor. These now unknown works were highly praised by the critic of the magazine Magyarország és a Nagyvilág.^ The literary and art magazine Figyelő, edited by the excellent art critic, Tamás Szana between 1871 and 1876, published three articles in 1872 mentioning Kugler's works. The critic Aladár György reviewed the Association of Fine Artists exhibition, and criticized the vari ous mistakes he noted on the artworks, for example, he com mented that Kugler's portrait of Liszt depicted a general or a politician rather than an artist. These observations worthy of en tertainment journalism were taken up by other authors. Profes sional art magazines lacking at the time, such phrases would pass the verdict on the work of artists. We cannot tell what real rea sons behind the critic's revulsion were, but Kugler's works cer tainly did not deserve any extreme tone of voice, for they doubtless meet academic standards. An obituary summarized the judgment of the times: "He died at the age of 38 in Vienna on April 11,1875. A son of Sopron, he was about to return home from Vienna, when, during packing his artworks, unexpected death overtook him. In him we lost not a great genius, but a diligent artist." In 1883, the sculpture collection of the National Museum held two of his statues: a relief portrait and the Pulszky tomb as a de posit. On the basis of his reliefs, Gyula Pasteiner observed at the time that Kugler would have been able to create notable pieces in this genre. In his 1926 study of the sculpture collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Ervin Ybl wrote appreciatively of the Pulszky tomb, liking its sculptural virtues to those of the works of Adolf von Hildebrand (1847-1921). It could have been an im portant instant in his current reception and evaluation had the two Kugler works in the estate of Mrs. Pulszky and the tomb been re produced in the tome on Ferenc Pulszky. Perhaps light could have been even shed on the quality of their relationship. By the end of the 20 century, the work of the 8-10 signifi cant sculptors who were contemporaries of Miklós Izsó sunk into oblivion. Though overshadowed by the sculptor genius, Ferenc Kugler's estate has many interesting episodes in store thanks to his artistic cooperation with an outstanding photographer woman and his family, who preserved his oeuvre. While writing his history of famous Sopron families in 1936, Endre Csatkai hoped to thoroughly examine photos, drawings, watercolours, several 51
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Kugler folders. Due to the death of the descendants of the family, he did not have the opportunity to study the written material that remained with them, but, as seen from the above, a significant es tate which includes photos of unparalleled importance with regard to even Hungarian photographic history went into the possession of the Museum of Fine Arts and then the National Gallery.
NOTES 1 Farkas, Zsuzsa and Júlia Papp. A műtárgyfényképezés kezdetei Magyarországon (1840-1885). (A Magyar Fotográfia Forrásai 4.) Budapest: Magyar Fotográfiai Múzeum, 2007. 2 Soós, Gyula. "Kugler Pál Ferenc soproni szobrász (1836-1875)." In: Soproni Szemle, 1965, no. 2, pp. 171-175. 3 The literary remains o f Gyula Soós. Archive of the Research Institute for Art History of the Hungarian Academy o f Sciences, inv. no.: MKCS-C-5-37-676-9. 4 The Fővárosi Lapok mentioned his suicide (May 29, 1875, p. 55) referring to the data of the Ungarische Lloyd. 5 Oil on canvas, 3 30 cm, unsigned. Archive o f the Hungarian National Gallery (hereinafter: HNGA), inv. no.: 3781/1939. X
6 The brothers are from left to right: Antal, city-hall tax counsellor (Sopron); László, bookseller; Adolf, bookseller; Mihály, engineer (Sopron); Ferenc, sculp tor; János, lawyer, Gerard, confectioner; Heinrich, confectioner. 7 HNGA, inv. no.: 3734/1936. On the technical interest o f the photo, see Farkas, Zsuzsa. Festő-fényképészek 1840-1880. N.p. [Kecskemét:] Magyar Fotográfiai Múzeum, 2005, p. 96. 8 HNGA, inv. no.: 3782/1939/1. 9 Hungarian National Museum Photo Collection (hereinafter: H N M PC), inv. no.: 1939/3. "Visit card" format. Gift of Elek Petrovics. The oval portrait by Anna Christ shows Ferenc Kugler in full profile. A special kind of paper was used, its internal, oval part protruding, and thus the portrait has the effect of a relief. 10 HNGA, inv. no.: 3782/1939/4. The back side bears fourteen names, with Kug ler's inserted. 11 HNGA, inv. no.: 3782/1939/3. There is no mark on the photo on either side. 12 HNGA, inv. no.: 3782/1939/3. With "Grostante" crossed, and "Urgrosmutter" written underneath. 13 In 1862, János Wéber built a wooden booth in the park; in 1865, János Soma Wéber a kiosk according to Budapest Municipal Archive (hereinafter: M A ) , do cuments o f the Building Committee (hereinafter: BC): 30/1862, 85/1864. 14 Hidvégi, Violetta. "Cirkuszok Pesten az 1860-as években." In: Vadas, Ferenc ed. Romantikus kastély. Tanulmányok Komárik Dénes tiszteletére. Budapest: H i l d - Y b l Alapítvány, 2004, pp. 251—263. Using plans, archival sources, the ex cellent study describes circus buildings in the Botanical Gardens, the Beleznay Gardens, later on the Danube bank and City Park. 15 Molnár Gál, Péter. A pesti mulatók: előszó egy színháztörténethez. N.p. [Buda pest: ] Helikon, 2001, pp. 62-68. 16 M A building permits: IV. 1305. 268/1867. The permit was granted under the condition that the studio would be built of not wooden planks but using brick walls and durable wood, and the roof would have flame-resisting covering. 17 "We highly recommend her studio to the public because, as it is said, female meekness is manifest in the photographs she makes, which as such are otherwise mechanical." "Hírharang." In: Hölgyfutár, October 24, 1856, no. 246, p. 997. 18 She was entered in the photographers' registry as R. Büki Fejér, and ran her stu dio between 1863 and 1873. She herself had the studio built at 12 Soroksári út. See: M A BC 744/1863. On her activities see: "Arcképezési járvány." In: Fővá rosi Lapok, June 24, 1864, p. 605. 19 Advertisement o f Anna Guichard, in: Magyarország és a Nagyvilág, 1869, no. 10, p. 120. 20 "Legújabb találmány a fényképészet terén." In: A Divat, April 8, 1874, p. 56. 21 H N M PC. She has nine photographs in the dress collection ("visit card" format, inv. nos: 4621/1957, 564/1966, 78.754, 82.1809, 84.634, four other photographs without inv. nos), but there is not detail concerning her studio. 22 In 1868, a guard in the tower of city hall signalled to the lamplighters, who would then go and switch the lights on with their rods. 23 Cs. Plank, Ibolya. "Fényképészmütermek Budapesten." In: Budapesti Negyed 5 (1997), no 1, pp. 67-105. Ibolya Cs. Plank and Violetta Hidvégi study particu larly the special glass structures o f Pest photo studios. 24 M A BC: 1181/1868. According to Károly Lyka (Közönség és művészet a szá zadvégen. N.p. [Budapest:] Corvina, 1982, pp. 15-16), the studio was built to-
gether with Károly Halász, but archival records mention no common property o f theirs. 25 Their commissioners and contractors were as follows, respectively: Jakab Kauser and Károly Gerster in between Borjú utca and Víg utca; M A BC: 180/1865; Mihály Kraft and Ferenc Wieser, at Malom utca 3; M A BC: 707/1865, Endre Gabler and Antal Lohr at the Kerepesi út tollhouse, M A B C : 715/1865, Lukács Szvoboda and Károly Hild at Kerepesi út 43; M A BC: 175/1866. Cf. Hidvégi, Violetta: Pest város Építő Bizottmányának Iratai. Repertórium. Budapest: BFL, 2004, pp. 138, 155, 165. 26 "Permission granted to Mr. Ferenc Kugler for building a sculptural studio at the corner of 5 Pacsirta utca according to the plan herewith attached, which is guar anteed by architect Pál Schusbeck, and for which 2 florins fee was paid under number 1411 at the finance office, under the condition that, as the building shall be temporary, and aesthetically no such building can be permitted to stand on the street line, the building shall be pulled up at least six feet away from the wall on the border o f the lot, and shall be covered with a flame-resisting roof. Done at Pest on November 19, 1868, at the meeting o f the town council." M A BC: 1181/1868. 27 Namely at the following: 3 Kerepesi út (1860-1885); 11 Kerepesi út (18801885); 69 Kerepesi út (1877); 9 Kerepesi út (1882-1884); 28 Kerepesi út (18901899); 3 Kerepesi út (1860-1885); 11 Kerepesi út (1880-1885); 69 Kerepesi út (1877); 9 Kerepesi út (1882-1884); 28 Kerepesi út 28 (1890-1899). 28 M A BC: 917/1868. See Hidvégi, op. cit. (see Note 25) 276. 29 Commissioned by M . Ziegelwagner and built by contractor Imre Rill. M A BC: 2565/1872. 30 Lyka, op. cit. (see Note 24) p. 15-16. None of the plans of the studios Miklós Izsó built are extant; all we know o f is a request to have a door opened in Rózsa utca ( M A BC: IV. 1407/B 66083). His widow submitted a request a permit to build a two-storey house at 20 Rózsa utca ( M A BC: FL IV. 1407/B III.1915/1885). In her request, she mentions that, on the lot, "there is now a sin gle-storey house with a sculptural studio built in particular for casting the statue o f Petőfi." Due to problems o f ownership, the building permit referred to Engi neering Office decision 1137 o f 1875 allowing the division o f the lot into three parts. 3 1 On the basis o f the data o f Hidvégi, op. cit. (see Note 25) p. 307. (447/1869), the data o f Lyka can be made more precise, for the house was built not in Vilma királyné útja (today: Városligeti fasor), but in Damjanich utca, and the villa-like studio was a summer house according to the request submitted. 32 M A B C : 447/1869. 33 Soós, op. cit. (see Note 2) p. 175. talks about Sopron citizens, priests, actresses, but we do not know of their portraits. 34 "Budapesti hírvivő." In: Családi Kör, 1867, no. 42, p. 1003. 35 Gyula Soós (op. cit., see Note 2) does not mention that Gyula Andrássy's por trait has a double. Kugler displayed his statue of Andràssy at a Vienna exhibition in 1868, as the Műcsarnok reported (November 17, 1868,p. 152). Onlythe plas ter cast of the bust was ready, but the exhibit could also have been a relief por trait. 36 Fővárosi Lapok, May 25, 1871, p. 565. 37 "For a tomb, he produces a full-length, life-size relief o f Christ, of the Saviour sharing pain, which he will carve in marble." In: "Hazai művészet." Műcsarnok, 1868, no. 5, p. 40. 38 By 1883, it stood in the corridor of the abbey. Pasteiner Gyula. " A magyar szob rászat." In: Budapesti Szemle, 1883, vol. 34, pp. 180-208. 39 Bajó, Gyula. Budapest újabbkori épületszobrászata. Budapest, 1942, p. 37. There is no mention of either the tomb or the name of the family in the registry of tombs. Tóth. Vilmos. " A Kerepesi úti temető I I . " In: Budapesti Negyed 1 (1999), no. 3. 40 Divald, Koméi. A Magyar Tudományos Akadémia palotája és gyűjteményei: ma gyarázó kalauz. Budapest: MTA, 1917, 93. cat. no. 178. 41 Soós, Gyula. "Magyar történelmi kisplasztika a X I X . században." In: Művé szettörténeti Értesítő 3.\ (1954) p. 99. 42 The statue cannot be identified. Only a later tomb of the Wenzel family has sur vived, which was made in the Gerenday workshop in 1891. See Tóth, op. cit. (see Note 39) p. 185; tomb no. B 182. 43 His plan was that the effigy would go the National Museum. The photo shows the plaster cast, the marble version was probably not executed. See Műcsarnok, 1869, nos. 21-22. p. 183. 44 "Ferenc Kugler's Flora is better [than the two busts by Miklós Vay], but is not excellent, and the bust by László Dunaiszky which is meant to depict Miklós Barabás is below critical level." -r. " A Képzőművészeti Társulat tárlatán." In: Fi gyelő, 1875, no. l , p . 9. 45 (-i.). " A műtárlaton." In: Fővárosi Lapok, June 22, 1875, p. 636.
46 He had run his studio at 187 Várkerület between 1860 and 1870. See Szakács, Margit. Fényképészek és fényképészműtermek Magyarországon, 1840-1945. Adatok a Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum Történeti Fényképtárának gyűjteményéből. Budapest: Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum, 1997, p. 144. 47 Soós. Kugler.,.,
op. cit. (see Note 2) p. 174.
48 Dr. Csatkai, Endre. " A soproni Kugler Ferenc Pál szobrász születésének 100. évfordulójára." In: Sopronvármegye, April 12, 1936. n. p. 49 The size o f the relief unveiled in 1873 is 58x158 cm. For a detailed description see: Berkcszi, István. Temesvári művészek. N.p. [Temesvár], 1910, p. I l l , 50 In Carrara marble, the sword bears a line from Petőfi's famous poem "National Song": "The sword is brighter than the chains". See: Nefelejts, 1869, no. 35, p. 419. 51 A Kassai Múzeum gyűjteményeinek leíró lajstroma. Kassa, 1903. pp. 19, 26, 27, 31,36, 42,45,56, 69, 70,71. 52 "Kugler's Saviour frightens visitors in full-size right at the door". " A képkiállí táson." In: Fővárosi Lapok, January 9, 1875, p. 24. 53 54 55 56
"Egyletek és intézetek." In: Magyarország és a Nagyvilág, 1871, no. 4. p. 47. György, Aladár. "Képzőművészet." In: Figyelő, 1872. p. 55. "Halálozások." In: Vasárnapi Újság, 1875, no. 16, p. 253. Due to data lacking, it is unidentifiable. See Csatkai, op. cit. (see Note 48) p. 6. Terracotta, 1871.
57 Pasteiner, op. cit. (see Note 38) p. 207. The inscription on the portrait reads: "Tragoedia". 58 Y b l , Ervin. " A Szépművészeti Múzeum modem szobrászati gyűjteménye." A paper clipping among the posthumous papers o f Gyula Soós (Archive of the Research Institute for Art History of the Hungarian Academy o f Sciences, inv. no.: MKCS-C-5-37-676-9). The data of the original catalogue: A modern szo borgyűjtemény. Int. by Petrovics, Elek. Budapest, 1926, 11. cat. no. 17. 59 Basics, Beatrix and Júlia Szabó eds. Pulszky Ferenc (1814-1897) emlékére. Bu dapest: MTA Művészeti Gyűjtemény, 1997.
APPENDIX
Sculptures by Ferenc Kugler in the collection of the Hungarian National Gallery
A l . The Bust of Franz Liszt, 1865 marble, 68x46 cm inv. no.: 5953
A2. The Bust of Ferenc Deák, 1864 plaster, 57 cm inv. no.: 52.174
Purchased from the estate of János Kugler in 1924.
Taken over from the Parliamentary Museum in 1949.
A3. The Bust of Ferenc Deák, 1864 plaster, 57 cm inv. no.: 8356 Bequeathed by the National Hungarian Historical Museum in 1943.
A4. The Bust of István plaster, 56,5 cm inv. no.: 55.808
Széchenyi
Taken over from the Parliamentary Museum in 1954.
•
I f,
A5. Tomb Relief for the Family of Ferenc Pulszky (Towards a Brighter Homeland) marble, 96,5x135 cm inv. no.: 4869
A6. The Effigy of Ernesztina relief, 1871
Mányoki,
terracotta, diameter 50 cm inv. no.: 8391 Bequeathed by the National Hungarian Historical Museum in 1943.
Purchased from the St. George Guild in 1915.
T
A7. Effigies of the Artist s Parents, relief, 1871 marble, 42x33 cm inv. no.: 8356 Purchased from the widow o f László Kugler in 1934.
A l l . The Effigy of a Woman, relief plaster, diameter 54 cm inv. no.: 7624 Bequeathed from the estate o f Mrs. Ferenc Pulszky in 1939, 440/1939.
A8. The Effigy of Viktor relief, 1869
Madarász,
plaster, diameter 39 cm inv. no.: 6794 Purchased in 1956.
A9. The Effigy of Ferenc Pulszky, relief, 1857
A10. The Effigy of Johann Overbeck, relief, 1873
plaster, diameter 39 cm inv. no.: 7624 Bequeathed from the estate of Mrs. Ferenc Pulszky in 1939, 440/1939.
plaster, diameter 36 cm inv. no.: 8390 Bequeathed by the National Hungarian Historical Museum in 1943.
A12. The Effigy of a Woman, relief, 1860
A13. Venus Reclining, 1867 (Copy of Antonio Canova's Paolina
marble, 17x13,5 cm inv. no.: 60.1 Purchased in 1960.
alabaster, 51 25 cm
x
inv. no.: 56.406 Purchased in 1946.
Borghese)
Egy szobrászhagyaték reprodukciói az 1870-es évekből Kugler Pál Ferenc szobrai Christ Anna fényképein
A dagerrotípia felfedezése (1839) után fokozatosan kifejlődött egy új szakterület: a reprodukálás. Ennek köszönhetően átalakult a múzeumokban található állomány, a reprodukciók által meg kettőződött minden gyűjtemény. A tárgyak új életre keltek a fény képeken, hiszen mobilizálható, egyforma, könnyen kezelhető objektumokká lettek. A korai magyar műtárgyfelvételek öszszegyűjtése és publikálása elkezdődött, de folyamatosan kerülnek elő újabb felvételek. Egy mára már kevéssé ismert szobrász hagyatékának repro dukciói az MNG gyűjteményeiben találhatók. A soproni születésű Kugler Pál Ferenc (1836-1875) szobrászról Soós Gyula írt tanul mányt 1965-ben, összegyűjtötte műveit, feldolgozta a kiállítások adatait és a korabeli újságok híradásait is. Az MTA Művészettör téneti Kutatóintézet Adattárában fennmaradt Soós-hagyatékból tudjuk, hogy a tanulmányíró ismerte az MNG Adattárában és a Szoborosztályon található reprodukciógyűjteményt, de tanulmá nyához nem használta fel azokat. Összességében több mint har minc „új" reprodukcióról van szó, melyek legalább ötven müvet ábrázolnak. E hagyaték egyik kiemelkedő jelentőségű fényképfelvétele a pesti Beleznay-kert 19. századi világába vezet el: itt állt a szobrász Kugler Pál Ferenc és a fényképész Christ Anna műterme. A spe ciális műterem-építészet e felvétel kapcsán került előtérbe, hiszen Kugler Ferenc szobrászmütermének tervei is fennmaradtak a Fővárosi Levéltárban. A fényképen a kertet körülvevő kőkerítés fölött ott áll a lámpagyújtogató mester, aki az utcai világítást be kapcsolja. Részletesen tanulmányozható Christ Anna műtermé nek üvegszerkezete, az utcai fakapuzat, amelyen át beléptek a fényképezkedni vágyók a kertbe. A pesti városfalon kívüli „vi déki" élet központjában épült két szerény müvészmüterem, ame lyeket az Ötpacsirta (ma Puskin) utca felől közvetlenül, illetve a Beleznay-ház első udvarán keresztül lehetett megközelíteni. Christ Jakab 1867-ben kért a pesti Építő Bizottmánytól engedélyt fényképész-műterem építésére. A józsefvárosi fényirda a Kere pesi és Ötpacsirta utca sarkán Gottgeb Antal építész tervei alap ján épült fel. A fényképek hátoldalán használt feliratok alapján tudjuk, hogy 1868-70 között Christ Anna és Fájth János együtt üzemeltette a fényirdát, majd utóbb már csak Christ Anna vezette az üzletet 1882-ig. Kugler megmintázta a fényképésznő allegori kus alakját, kedvesen mosolygó mellképe a fényképész-műterem udvari bejárata fölé került, kissé oldalra fordítva, hogy az Ötpa csirta utcából föltekintve is jól látható legyen. A nőiségnek ez a fajta hangsúlyozása nem volt véletlen, hiszen ebben az időben még nagyon kevés nő vállalta a műhely vezetésének, a fényké
pész szakmának a teljes körű elsajátítását. Számos nő segítette azonban nagy tudással és szorgalommal férje vállalkozását, majd annak halála után ő vagy a család tovább vitte a műtermet. A leg korábban tevékenykedő fényképésznők életéről, munkáikról szinte semmit nem tudunk. Kugler Ferenc 1868. november 3-án adta be a pesti tanács Építő Bizottmányához kérelmét szobrászmüterem építésére. 1860-70 között Engel József és Izsó Miklós időszakos műtermein kívül nem tudunk speciális műtermekről Pesten. 1865-ben három, 1866- ban egy kőfaragóműhely épült, de ezek megrendelői nem szobrászok, hanem iparosmesterek voltak. A páratlan kutatások után - melyeket a fényképezés indukált - a tanulmányban Kugler Pál Ferenc életművének összegzése kö vetkezik, mely Soós gyűjtése alapján körülbelül ötven alkotásból áll, ezek mellé tehetjük az újabb reprodukciókat. A teljes életmű bemutatására nincs lehetőség, csak néhány eddig nem publikált műre hívhatjuk fel a figyelmet. A tanulmány mellékletben közli az MNG állományában jelenleg található összes Kugler-szobrot. Christ Anna kerti felvételén az ösvény egyik oldalán Deák Ferenc mellszobrát helyezték el, e mü két gipszpéldánya ma az MNG tu lajdona. A márvány változatok a soproni Városházára, majd az MTA dísztermeibe kerültek. Az ösvény másik oldalán Petőfi Sán dor mellképe látható, mely Kiskunfélegyháza számára készült 1867- ben. Doctor és Kozmata, illetve Kozmata és Társa műter mében fényképezték le gróf Andrássy Gyula és felesége mell szobrait. Christ Annát Kugler műtermének 1873-as eladása vagy a művész Bécsbe költözése motiválta két kiváló, esetleg hagyatéki (?) felvételének elkészítésében. Két reprodukción a műterem bel sejét örökítette meg, mindkettőn a művész főművei: Jézus Krisz tus-szobrai vannak a középpontban, és körülöttük elrendezve különféle műtárgyak. Az egyik reprodukción a Jézus-szobor nagy ságát a mögötte látható ún. Pulszky-reliefből tudjuk kiszámítani, mely ma az MNG tulajdona. A másik reprodukción láthatjuk az ál dást osztó Jézus szobrát, mely Kugler műtermének sarkában állt. A művész e minta alapján faragta k i a Wenzel család síremlékét carrarai márványból a Kerepesi temetőben. A szobor körül 40 cen timéter átmérőjű reliefeket helyeztek el a falra, melyek közül csak Pulszky Ferenc arcképe azonosítható, további öt arckép-relief pedig nem. Ott van a földön Liszt Ferenc arcképe (1865), mely ma az MNG állandó 19. századi kiállításának fontos, megbecsült da rabja. A Jézus-szobor lábánál látható koronás női arckép Erzsé bet királynét ábrázolja. Eddig is tudtuk a Műcsarnok tudósítása alapján, hogy 1869-ben Kugler tervezte: elkészíti a királyné szob-
rát; és azt remélte, hogy kérelmét az arckép kivitelezésére a hiva talok is támogatják. A további reprodukciók között ráakadunk a Flóra, valamint a Nemtő című álló figurákra és Gyerek libával című zsánerszobrára; mindhárom szobornak nyoma veszett. Mindegyikről nagyméretű (kabinet) kép készült. Utóbbin ovális felvétel szárazpecsétjének adatai tudósítanak arról, hogy a kép Tiefbrunncr Sándor soproni mester fényrajzképe. Végül egy épületszobrászi munka: a Hőgyes és Üllői út sarkán az Angyal-gyógyszertáron elhelyezett, élet nagyságon felüli angyalt ábrázoló kőszobor 1958-ban, az épület lebontásakor megsemmisült. A Christ Anna által készített felvé telen a barokk arcvonású mosolygó angyal a műteremben látható, mögötte a mintázó asztalkán ott van még a kis vázlat, amelyet a megrendelő jóváhagyott. A reprodukciókon keresztül sok érdekes mű válik megismer hetővé, még akkor is, ha a képek olykor felszínes és esetleges ada tokat zúdítanak is ránk. Kugler Ferenc hivatali reprezentációt szolgáló főműve a Temesvárra készült relief, amelyet Ormós Zsig mond rendelt meg temesi alispánként - ezt is csak fényképek alap ján ismerjük. A maga nemében páratlan sorozat volt a művész által a Kassai Múzeumnak ajándékozott tíz relief-arckép Ormós Zsig mond, Pulszky Ferenc, Orlai (Petrich) Soma, Madarász Viktor,
Than Mór, Engel József, Lötz Károly, illetve három ismeretlen férfi arcképe; mindez Liszt mellszobrának gipszével egészült ki. Kugler alkotásai római iskolázottságából adódóan Canova ha tását, a klasszicista hagyományt képviselik, reliefjeit a saját kora realista alkotásoknak tartotta. 1871 -ben lehetőséget kapott a Nem zeti Múzeumtól, hogy a folyosón kiállíthassa Herkules, Sophok les és Gladiátor című szobrait. Tragikus öngyilkosságáig már nem alkotott ismert, kiemelkedő müvet. 1883-ban a Nemzeti Múzeum Képtárának szoborállományá ban Kugler Ferencnek két szobra volt: egy portré-relief és letétben a Pulszky-síremlék. Pasteiner Gyula már ekkor megállapította re liefjei alapján, hogy a művész e nemben figyelemre méltó müve ket alkothatott volna. 1926-ban Ybl Ervin a Szépművészeti Múzeum szobrászati gyűjteményéről írt tanulmányában elis merően méltatta a Pulszky-síremléket, Adolf von Hildebrand al kotásaihoz hasonlítva annak szobrászati erényeit. Az Izsó Miklóssal egy időben dolgozó nyolc-tíz számottevő magyar szobrász munkássága feledésbe merült a 20. század vé gére. A szobrászgéniusz árnyékában élő Kugler Ferenc ma fellel hető hagyatéka sok érdekességet tartogat, köszönhetően egy kiváló fényképésznővel való művészi együttműködésének, és a híres cukrász Kugler famíliának, akik megőrizték életmüvét.
