Zsolnay, Júlia (1856 - 1950)

Painter, ceramist. She was the second child of Vilmos Zsolnay and his wife Teréz Bell. She started to produce designs for the Zsolnay Factory in 1875. She specialized in painted ornaments. With her sister, Teréz, she studied the collections of the Österreichis- ches Museum fiir Angewanndte Kunst in Vienna in 1877-78 under the supervision of Jakob von Falke. She spent shorter spells in Munich and Paris in order to study. In 1897 she went to Munich to continue her art education, which she had begun earlier in Vienna. Her instructor in painting was Sándor Liezen-Mayer. By 1878-79 she had become an outstanding designer. She was influenced by Japanese examples around 1880 and after 1890. During this period her so-called ’’Naturalistic” style had a decidedly Art Nouveau character. She produced designs around 1900 and during the 1920s. The objects bearing her signature were painted by herself.