Margit Kovács (1902–1977) was a Hungarian ceramist and sculptor.
Life
Margit Kovács was born into a Jewish Hungarian family in Győr, Hungary on 30 November 1902. She originally wished to become a graphic artist but she grew interested in ceramics in the 1920s and went to study in Vienna with Hertha Bücher, a famous Austrian ceramic artist, from 1926-1928. Then she studied clay modelling in Munich at the State School of Applied Arts under Karl Killer (1928–29). She was a fellow student here, then lifelong friend of Julia Bathory, glass artist. She studied in Copenhagen in 1932 and in 1933 she was at Sèvres Porcelain factory where she mastered the art of modelling with chamotte clay to make figures.
She won international awards in Milan, Paris, Berlin, Brussels and Rome. She was very popular in Hungary and received many public commissions. The Communist regime gave her the Distinguished Artist Award in 1959.
Work Her first public exhibition was in Budapest in 1928 and from then on her output was prolific and she continued working throughout the Second World War. She produced statuettes, pots, plates, wall plaques and tiled murals.
Her main themes are country folk, family life and bible stories. Her work is very varied but is characterised by flowing lines which curve sensually to evoke sentiment. One of her most significant works of religious art is the portal of the Saint Emeric Church (Szent Imre templom) of Győr (1939–1940).
Several of her ceramic murals are still visible in Budapest and other cities. Those in Budapest at the time of her death were:Pataky-Brestyánszky
Fisher Boy, 1932Ponty utca 14 St. Florian, 1935Fürst Sándor utca 16 The Peacock Alighted, c.1935Vármegye utca 15 Signs of the Zodiac, c.1936Foyer of Kosciuszkó Tádé utca 14 To the Old Post House, 1937Régiposta utca 13 Budapest, Queen of the Danube, 1937IBUSZ, Roosevelt tér 5 (fragment) Adam and Eve, c.1939-40Vármegye utca 15 Fishing, Hunting, 1942Lobby of Bimbó út 11 The First of May, 1946Ministry of Education Map of Lake Balaton, 1950Hall of the Déli railway station Fountain Pool, c.1950Pioneer Store (demolished) Folk Dance Group Rehearsing, 1952Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Seasons, 1953Budapest Museum of History The Matyó Family, 1955Museum of Applied Arts Wine Harvest, 1955Museum of Applied Arts Games, 1959Ministry of Education The Meteorologist, 1960National Meteorological Institute Two Girls Went to Pick Flowers, 1961Museum of Applied Arts In Remembrance of Things Past, 1961Blood Donor HQ Into the Woods, 1965Home for Handicapped Children
In 1972 she donated the majority of her work to the Pest County Museums Directorate in Szentendre. A museum of her work was opened in 1973 in Vastagh Street, Szentendre. There is also a collection in Győr.
Death Kovács died in Budapest on 4 June 1977. Her grave is in Farkasréti Cemetery in Budapest.
Gallery
References
Lea Schenk, Margit Kovács Photo Album, Budapest, 2007 (2001) Ilona Pataky-Brestyánszky, Margit Kovács, Budapest, Corvina/Képzőművészti Kiadó, 1976
External links
The Kovács museum Fine Art in Hungary International Art Portal Pottery, Politics and Identity: Three Hungarian Ceramicists and the Central European Diaspora