Ferenczy, Noémi (1890 - 1957)

One of the outstanding figures of the Hungarian art scene during the interwar years, and also of the entire field of European tapestry design in these years. She executed her own designs. In other respects self- taught, she acquired the technique of weaving at the Manufacture des Gobelins in Paris. The two major works of her early period (which was characterized by an emphasis on decorative details) were ’’Creation” (1913) and ’The Flight into Egypt” (1916). In the late 1920s she came to focus on the subject of Man at work, and her style also changed: she composed her tapestries using large, colourful patches, with the monumental human figures becoming the dominant features of her compositions (’’Man Digging” 1922; ’’Woman Textile Worker” 1932). From the second half of the 1930s landscape motifs began to play a prominent part in her art. All her tapestries are characterized by a certain timeless tranquility, and by a kind of artistic modesty and discipline. She was a teacher at the Budapest Academy of Applied Arts from 1945 until her death.