Tapestry - Cassandra

In Greek mythology, the daughter of king Priam of Troy, Cassandra had the faculty to see the future. She received her prophetic ability from Apollo, whom she promised to love in return. Since she breeched the agreement, Apollo punished her with the curse that nobody would believe her predictions. The scene captures the moment when Cassandra presages the destruction of Troy from the flight of birds. Aladár Körösfői Kriesch (1863–1920), the founder of the Gödöllő Artists Colony (1901–1920) was a decisive figure of Hungarian Art Nouveau. After studies abroad, he received several commissions: for two frescoes in the Parliament (1902), frescoes of the Music Academy (1907), wall paintings of the palace of culture in Marosvasarhely (today Targu Mureş, Romania) (1913). As the leader of the weaving workshop, he taught at the Hungarian School of Design from 1907. For him, a work of art was principally the vehicle of an idea and world view. With his fellow artists at the colony, he aimed to find the “primordial symbols” and to create a Hungarian myth. They used ancient, medieval and Hungarian peasant sources which they combined most liberally. The heroines of Hungarian prehistory appear with the solemnity of Greek, Celtic or Indian myths, while the mythological figures are imbued with folkloristic flavour. With her long red hair the Cassandra of the tapestry resembles far more closely the tragic heroines of Anglo-Saxon and Hungarian folk ballads than the ancient Greek mythological figures.