Miklós Székely, Schools and Museums of Modern Design in Transylvania Around 1900, Budapest: Institute of Art History, Research Centre for the Humanities, 2023

Abstract

The volume Schools and museums of mod­ern design in Transylvania around 1900 explores the arts and craft movements in Transylvania after the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 until World War I, through the lenses of the industrial development, education, and culture in several towns of the region which came under the jurisdiction of the newly created independent Hungarian administration, and which are today a part of Romania. The author Miklós Székely, re­searcher at the Institute of Art History in Budapest, has pointed out over the years in several published articles different aspects of the presence and transformation (in approach and mentality) of arts and craft movements which emerged in the mid-19th century, in connection to the industrial education in the region discussed. However, this book summarizes the results of ten years of research and brings a more concrete approach to the analysis of the impact the industrial vocational schools had on the applied art movements in Transylvania. On the other hand, the book also investigates the state involvement in industrial education and the part it played especially during the 1890s, when a reorganization of the institutions was carried out and a national system was implemented.