Maróti Géza ‘s visions

Maroti was one of the most influencing architect, sculpture and designer of the hungarian szecessziò. At the beginning of his career he worked on several buildings projects, both in Vienna and Budapest.

Maroti’s Budapest buildings include:

Gresham-épület, Hitelbank, today Pénzügyminisztérium V., József nádor tér 2-4

Kereskedelmi Bank, now Belügyminisztérium V., Roosevelt tér 3.

 

Pesti Hazai Takarékpénztár, now Beruházási Bank, V., Deák F. u. 5,

and the buildings for the international exhibition of Venice (1905). I’m the lucky owner of a special number of Magyar Iparmuveszet in which there are many photos regarding the Maroti’s own work.

Some pictures were taken outside the Hungarian Pavillon:

and, of course, even the interiors:

including an evocative Beethoven room:

The interiors included even some sculptures, work of Maroti as well:

and, finally, one very special picture was a reproduction of one of the original drawings of the interior architecture:

Maróti Géza’s own interest for symbolic iconography and even esoteric philosophy can be noticed in two other very particular works. At first, the female figures surmounting the Ferenc Liszt tere Music Academy,named Geniuses, were strictly connected with the inspirational figures of the greek muses, even if in their hieratic expression they resembles some demonic female figures of the austrian and german symbolism (think, as an example, to the Klimt female figures in the Beethoven frieze in the Olbrich’s Secession House).

 

Right picture is the Sketch of the same sculpture collected at the Hungarian National Gallery.

The symbolic turn in the wokrs of Geza MAroti is even more noticeable in a very particular illustration drawn by the hungarian artist. It represents a sort of virtual reconstruction of the mythical city of Atlantis. The drawing illuminated a writing entitled “Who were the atlantis” which, begun in 1933 wasn’t never finished, even if it influenced a theosophic thinker as Rudolf Steiner.

Other works include projects for several buildings in Detroit and in Mexico City, as well as facade’s decorations such as the famous Fisher Building in Detroit.