Renaissance and Mannerism II. [antikvár]

PREFACE The exhibilion of Renaissance and Mannerism is a new venture for the Budapest Museum of Applied Arts, being the first of a series of exhibitions with the overall title "Periods in European Decorative Arts", the subsequent shows, wich arc planned for the closing years of the 1980's, will introduce and summarize the periods of Baroque, Classicism and Historicism. An important function of such exhibitions will also be to provide basic metarial for the research that is so vital to the understanding and presentation of periods in European Art History. Practical considerations, however, place certain limitations on the pursuit of pure research. As a museum, we had to take into account the entire available collection when deciding what should, or should not be included in the exhibition. Thus, we have included some items that had hardly any direct influence on Hungarian dccorative arts at the time they were made. An exhibition embracing a whole period must show pieces according to their relative significance. It follows, therefore, that surviving picces of Hungarian decorative art will not necessarily be given prominence, at least in certain periods or in certain crafts. This being the first exhibition of the series, it can only attempt to summarize the period with the help of the objects availabe. The organizers are well aware that a classical historiographical survey must be a task for the future. Thus, the conclusions and evidence set forth in the exhibition and the catalogue must simply be regarded as raw material for a later synthesis, awaiting the attention of researchers from within the museum, or from elsewhere. Inevitably Art History as it is formulated in exhibitions and their catalogues is far from balanced or comprehensive. The nature and limitations of the main collections are bound to dictate form and contcnt. The organizers arc of course aware of these drawbacks, but they look upon this scries of shows as "work in progress" for a much larger task, namely a permanent exhibition that will cncompass all periods in European Art History. There is a real demand on the part of experts and of the public here and abroad for such an exhibition. It has been repeatedly demonstrated in the past that exhibiting, registering and researching the most prccious pieces of a collection not only gives a stimulus to research, but also meets with the enthusiastic approval of the public. However, such an undertaking requires the crcation of the basic conditions in which the experts can carry out their tasks. That work would not have been possible in this ease without a great deal of institutional and individual help. In this rcspect the museum staff would like to express their gratitude for the work of the late Professor Dénes Radocsay, the former Director of the Budapest Museum of Applied Arts. He it was who conccivcd the scries of exhibitions which were featured under the umbrella title of "The Parameters of Three - dimensional Art," of which he was able to realize that covering the Gothic Age. They are also indebted to Professor Pál Miklós, Professor Radocsay's successor, for laying the foundations of the museum's ongoing project of a permanent exhibition of the history of styles in the applied arts. Budapest January 1988 Gyula Rózsa Direktor - General