Sandor Nagy Tapestries and the Magyar Origin

Illustration: Sandor Nagy. Sakuntala tapestry, 1909.

The two tapestries shown here were both produced in the first decade of the twentieth century but reflect very little of that century or even its potential as seen from it's beginning, one that was to alter the decorative and fine arts irrevocably.

Both tapestries were firmly rooted in the folklore of a nation, but perhaps more importantly, they also aimed to pinpoint the origins of that nation and to give it a legitimacy in the hierarchy of European nationhood that it had sorely been lacking.

Sandor Nagy, the Hungarian artist, produced the tapestries in 1908 and 1909, to a formula that gained its inspiration and style from the English Arts & Crafts movement, with the tapestries themselves borrowing certain elements from the technical working style of William Morris.

However, the subject matter and narrative is entirely Hungarian in origin and reflects much of the new found confidence of Hungary, due largely to the restructuring of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, creating a dual monarchy and giving Hungary at least an appearance of equal power with its more influential and traditionally more powerful co-ruler Austria.

To make the differentiation between the German and Magyar sections of the empire more acute and therefore more obvious to outsiders, Hungary needed to emphasise the differing origins of their nation from that of Austria. Nagy, along with a number of other influential artists, designers, architects and composers, paid special attention to this origin question. Nagy himself, in the two tapestries shown here, drew an analogy between the Magyars and the Huns, seeing Attila the near legendary leader and also near destroyer of the Roman Empire, as a form of pseudo founder of the Magyar nation. Choosing Attila could have been no coincidence, especially as Austria had always seen itself as one of the inheritors of the Roman Empire. By choosing the near destroyer of that empire, Hungary was placing itself diametrically opposite to that of its co-ruler.

It is largely immaterial whether the analogy between the Huns and Hungary was mere supposition or based on fact. The important point is that Nagy, along with much of the creative talent that made up the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Hungarian Arts & Crafts movement, looked determinedly towards the east for inspiration and tradition, rather than west, as the Austrians did. By doing this, Hungary placed itself firmly in the eastern European tradition of art, craft and architecture, seeking its legends and identity from a Transylvanian birthplace and sometimes even further east. However, at the same time Hungary also strengthened contemporary cultural links with Western Europe, particularly Britain. This in some respects produced a Hungarian culture that looked to the East for inspiration as to its traditions, but to the West for the reinterpretation of those traditions.

These tapestries while appearing to innocently display and represent myths and legends from a nations past, were in fact part of a political and cultural shift in the perception and goals of that nation. 

Illustration: Sandor Nagy. Attila, return from the hunt tapestry, 1908.

Further reading links:
Art Nouveau: International and National Styles in Europe (Critical Introductions to Art)
Hungarian Folk Art
Hungarian Folk Designs for Embroiderers and Craftsmen (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)
Embroidered Textiles: A World Guide to Traditional Patterns
Crochet Designs from Hungary
Palóc hímzések - Palóc Embroidery
Britain and Hungary 3: Contacts in Architecture, Design, Art and Theory during the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Essays and Studies
A Concise History of Hungary (Cambridge Concise Histories)
Hungarian Decorative Folk Art
Hungarian folk customs (Hungarian folk art)
A Pictorial History of Hungarian Art
Hungarian village furniture, (Hungarian folk art)
Hungarian peasant art

Gustav Stickley's Craftsman Magazine

Illustration: The Craftsman magazine cover, January 1904.

The first issue of Gustav Stickley's The Craftsman magazine was produced in 1901. From its inception it was meant to be seen as a vehicle to promote the philosophy of the English Arts & Crafts movement across North America. This can be seen quite clearly with its first issue, which was dedicated entirely to the recently deceased William Morris, while the second issue was dedicated to the also recently deceased John Ruskin.

However, as the magazine matured it gradually took on a more native, home-grown element, promoting the by now burgeoning American Arts & Crafts movement. The magazine took the basic ideas behind the English Arts & Crafts philosophy and moulded them to suit an American environment.

The magazine promoted an all-encompassing simple life philosophy, which included in its remit, architecture, interior design and decoration, gardening and lifestyle. This largely home-grown idyll had elements of colonial reminiscences, so while the English movement tried to foster links with the English and European medieval period, the American tried to forge links with its own historical infancy. Of course, it must be admitted that most of the Arts & Crafts linkage with past eras was based largely on a fictitious nostalgia, but in the end that really is not that important. What is important is that the American Arts & Crafts movement which was a fairly broad grouping of elements from a number of disciplines including architecture, furniture, metal, ceramic and textile design, was making the first steps towards a recognition of American cultural uniqueness.

The gradual independence of the American Arts & Crafts movement from the European and particularly English movements, helped to foster the idea of America as a separate entity in its own right.

The Craftsman magazine by highlighting and encouraging the home-grown elements of the Arts & Crafts philosophy, helped to embolden the differences rather than the similarities between the two continents. Although the international aspect of the Arts & Crafts movement was tangible and many of the different national groups around the world did share a similar philosophy, the great strength of the Arts & Crafts movement was that it was adaptable to any number of native customs and cultures. It did much to bolster a reconnection that those cultures had with their own native history and traditions, which were then transmitted into contemporary architecture, design and craft. 

The Craftsman magazine ceased publication in 1916. The impending threat of American involvement in the First World War and the general disruption of markets and finances caused by that war put an end to the magazine. However, during its fifteen years of publication it had become the most read magazine of its type across North America and had helped to foster a dynamism within American mediums like architecture, interior decoration, furniture, metalwork and ceramics, which was to long outlive its short publication run.

Further reading links:
Gustav Stickley: Craftsman Home
Stickley's Craftsman Homes
Gustav Stickley's Craftsman Homes and Bungalows
Craftsman Bungalows: 59 Homes from "The Craftsman"
More Craftsman Homes
Making Authentic Craftsman Furniture: Instructions and Plans for 62 Projects (Dover books on woodworking & carving)
Gustav Stickley's Craftsman Farms: A Pictorial History
Gustav Stickley, the Craftsman
Craftsman Houses: The 1913 Catalog
Craftsman Furnishings For The Home
Stickley Style: Arts and Crafts Homes in the Craftsman Tradition
Gustav Stickley and the American Arts & Crafts Movement (Dallas Museum of Art Publications) 

Alfred Vaino Blomstedt and Rug Design

Illustration: A V Blomstedt. Horses rug, 1900.

At the turn of the twentieth century, there were a number of artists in Finland who produced both contemporary and traditionally sourced tapestry and rug design work; among these were Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Timo Sarpaneva and Alfred Vaino Blomstedt.

Blomstedt was a trained fine artist who had studied both in Finland and in Paris, but he was also an illustrator, designer and textile artist. His work within textiles was chiefly concentrated within the medium of tapestry production, though he did produce a number of rug designs as well.

Rug production was considered part of the traditional culture of Finland and was resuscitated within the Finnish Arts & Crafts movement. Finland did not gain its independence from Russia until the end of the First World War. Therefore, any highlighting of traditional skills was considered patriotic within Finland, but potentially dangerous political stirring within the Russian Empire as a whole.

The Friends of Finnish Handicraft, in which Blomstedt served as artistic director from 1900 onwards, was intimately involved in the Finnish rediscovery of their traditional culture through native crafts. Admittedly, not all rug production within Finland could be considered authentic to old traditions, but the romantic ideal of a separate Finnish culture from that of Russia, appealed to many within Finnish society and a number were more than happy to buy into the traditions, whether real or partially imaginary.

Although Blomstedt is more recognised today for his Symbolist inspired fine art work, the output he achieved in tapestry and rug design, cannot be dismissed. Working through the Friends of Finnish Handicraft with numerous other artists, designers and crafts people, Blomstedt helped to put Finnish self-determination on the agenda, and although considered an integral part of the Russian Empire, the Finns were able to mould a separate identity for themselves that put them in stead when they did eventually win their independence.

Further reading links:
The golden age: Finnish art, 1850 to 1907
Bringing Art to Life: Turn-of-the-Century Finnish Artists' Homes
Finnish design 1875-1975: 100 years of Finnish industrial design : Finnish Society of Crafts and Design 1875-1975
Scandinavian Design (Taschen 25)
Finland Living Design
Finnish Arts
Finnish Summer Houses
Finnish Design: Facts and Fancy
Kalevala Koru: Ancient Finnish design
Finland: Nature, Design, Architecture
THE LANGUAGE OF WOOD; Wood in Finnish Sculpture, Design and Architecture