Turin 1911: The World's Fair in Italy

Object/Work Type
National Pavilions

Components/Parts
Stool for the Hungarian Pavilion

Title Text
Pavilion of Hungary

Alternate Title Text
Padiglioni dell'Ungheria

Creator Description
Emil Tőry, Móric (Maurice) Pogány, and Dénes Györgyi. Built by Impresa Fornaroli & Borrini.

Creation Date
1910-1911

Demolition Date
1911-1912

Styles/Periods Description
National Romanticism

Styles/Periods Indexing Terms
Eclectic Style

Dimension Description
6000 square meters

Materials/Techniques Description
Wood construction showing yellow depiction all around the external walls of the building. Six green bronze warriors with gold helmets patrol the entrance. The dome is built with lead colored in green bronze. A base relief shines with violet reflections due to the tiles compounding it. (E. F. “Ne' regni del sogno. Il Padiglione dell'Ungheria”, L’Esposizione di Torino: giornale ufficiale illustrato dell'Esposizione Internazionale delle industrie e del lavoro 1911, Torino: Stabilimento Tipografico Guido Momo, no. 22 (20 May 1911): 350-4. ) The external walls are yellowish (15. E. F. “Quella che fu”, L’Esposizione di Torino: giornale ufficiale illustrato dell'Esposizione Internazionale delle industrie e del lavoro 1911, Torino: Stabilimento Tipografico Guido Momo, no. 35 (1911?): 557-8.) White obelisques and tiles. (Torino Esposizione 1911: Monografia Illustrata edita della Direzione Generale del Touring Club Italiano col concorso della Commissione Esecutiva dell’Esposizione di Torino, 1911, Milano: Touring Club Italiano, 1911, 23.). The dome of the main entrance is in copper, the base relief is in green stoneware (grès). The central hall is covered with colored windows composed of 60 pieces; in the same room, arches have turquoise decorations. Black tiles fountains in the inner courtyards have golden arabesques. (see Guida ufficiale dell'Esposizione internazionale - Torino 1911, Torino: Stabilimento Tipografico Guido Momo, 1911, 69, 72-84.) Dark grey are the walls of the central hall. The side door is bright yellow with bars in wrought iron. (“In giro per le mostre torinesi”, Le esposizioni di Roma e di Torino nel 1911 descritte ed illustrate, Milano: Società editrice Sonzogno, no. 10 (March 1911): 78-9. )

Materials/Techniques Name
Stoneware (Pottery), Lead (Metal), Copper (Metal), Frame Construction (Wood Frame Construction), Tile (Material)

Material Color
Yellow (Color), Turquoise (Color), Colors (Hues or Tints), Violet (Color), Green (Color)

Descriptive Note Text

Hungary is so modern in aesthetic expression and so jealous of its national traditions. The pavilion is the most striking in the International exhibition: austere in its exterior, beautiful and bizarre inside, this building of noble proportions and harmonious coloring ... is reminiscent of India and Persia ... and inspired by antique Hungarian motifs. (Melani, 289)Named “King’s Attila Tent-Palace,” the Hungarian Pavilion was unanimously considered the “Pearl of the Exposition” and praised for its ability to evoke a sense of motion in a perfectly geometric structure. The designers’ aim was to give visual expression to the power of the Hungarian military tradition, underscore its relevance to the present, and celebrate the strong and determinate nature of the Hungarian nation and its people. Made of wood, the Pavilion of Hungary combined the Romantic vision of the Tent-Palace of ancient king Attila with the Modernist inspiration of its stern cubic blocks. Harmoniously fused in the pavilion, Romantic echoes and Modernist traits are the defining elements of Hungarian functionalism. The building is a mirror of the lively social and cultural situation of the Hungarian nation, and particularly Budapest, during the first decade of the twentieth century. The Pavilion of Hungary was located on the left bank of the river Po, next to the Main entrance on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and the Orto Botanico (botanical gardens). It was designed by Hungarian architects Emil Tőry, Móric (Maurice) Pogány, and Dénes Györgyi. An eclectic building, combining Art Nouveau elements with the features of National Romanticism, it covered 6000 square meters, and was considered "the pearl of the exposition."Le Eposizioni di Roma e di Torino nel 1911 descritte ed illustrate (volume 4, January 1911, 31) described the building under construction as "una costruzione eminentemente caratteristica, con decorazioni cromatiche in maiolica" (a remarkably characteristic building with colorful maiolica decorations").The Mostra Forestale Ungherese was located next to the Pavilion.

Code in the 1911 Map
SIM 7

Related Protagonists