Methodology Enea Lanfranconi
An Undeservedly Forgotten Art Collector
EneaLanfranconi (1850–1895) is one of the forgotten greats of Hungary’s museum history. During his tragically short life he expanded the collections of several Hungarian museums and supported the initiatives of numerous civil organisations and cultural authorities. After his death the Hungarian state purchased a large part of his collection, thus enriching the Hungarian National Museum, the Historical Gallery, the National Picture Gallery and the about-to-be established Applied Arts Museum. Yet today his name is little known.
Enea Grazioso Lanfranconi was born on 30 May 1850 in Pellio, Lombardy, the second child of a well-to-do family. In 1867 his father, an engineer, arrived in Budapest, where he took part in railway construction. Later the family bought the Dévény and Bugelbach quarries. The family apparently returned to Lombardy in the mid 1870s, though Enea remained in Pozsony (today Bratislava) as the quarry owner and manager of the family property. In 1876–77 he had a two-storey house built for himself in Pozsony. In addition, he had an attractive villa constructed in the green belt, then being built up.
It seems Lanfranconi’s major purchases of objects and books took place in the late 70s and early 80s. From 1884, items from his collection regularly appeared in Budapest exhibitions. The following years saw a period of large donations. In 1887 he gave more than 300 engravings relating to the history of the capital to the Budapest municipality. The following year he similarly donated a large number of engravings to the city of Pozsony. However, today the City Museum there unfortunately cannot identify the items comprising that gift. Lanfranconi further supported the young Pozsony City Museum with the donation of two cabinets. In fact, at that time he offered his entire collection to Pozsony, on condition that the third Hungarian university would be established there. In the end that didn’t happen, but his intention to help the public good remained in the memory of local citizens for a long time. His final years were spent primarily for his collection and he travelled widely in order to expand it.
After his death his relatives almost immediately auctioned off the huge collection. The parts with a Hungarian connection were offered to the state for purchase, while the gallery items were auctioned in Cologne. Documents of 1895 relating to the estate indicate that the Hungarian state’s purchases included 4,142 engravings for the Hungarian Historical Gallery. Other purchases of different works of art can today be found in the National Museum, the Hungarian National Gallery and the Museum of Applied Arts.