Objects of art in the collection of Marcell Nemes
MúzeumCafé 27.
An exhibition in the Museum of Fine Arts until the middle of February pays tribute to art collector, dealer and patron Marcell Nemes, who became a legendary figure already during his life. The richly furnished interior of a middle class home recalls the atmosphere of the former collection, which contained outstanding masterpieces. Visitors are greeted by Oskar Kokoschka’s expressive portrait of Nemes. The lounge is not a faithful copy of one of the art collector’s sumptuously furnished homes, since neither photographs nor objects identifiably in his ownership were available. The few items which served as a starting point for furnishing the interior were donated by Nemes to museums and thus escaped dispersion. The display including a rare 17th-century Dutch carved wardrobe, a Biedermeier upright piano, small ceramic and metalsmith objects, as well as textile fragments was put together with the items and expert guidelines of art collectors Erzsébet and Csaba Csörge. It portrays what interiors in the homes of middle class collectors could have been like before World War I. As with paintings, it is not known exactly when Nemes began collecting art objects. As early as 1911 he made generous donations and thus his furniture, antique vials and other items entered public ownership. By donating antique ceramics in 1917 he helped establish the first collection of vases in the Classical Antiquities Collection of the Fine Arts Museum. He later donated a rare Buddhist statue and two fragments of 18th-century tapestries. Reflecting his attachment to applied arts, in 1911 he joined those who urged setting up the Majolica and Pottery Studio of Hódmezővásárhely Artists and financially contributed to its foundation. According to some sources Nemes tried his hand at ceramics.