György Zala (1858 in Alsólendva, today Slovenija – 31 July 1937 in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

) (sometimes: Georg Zala) was a Hungarian sculptor. Along with Alajos Strobl and

János Fadrusz János Fadrusz (2 September 1858, Pressburg – 26 October 1903, Budapest) was a Hungarian sculptor in the Neoclassical style. He was especially noted for his works on historical subjects. Biography He was the son of a poor cheesemaker, who ...

, he is one of Hungary's leading public sculptors of the late 19th and early 20th century.

Biography

Orphaned at the age of 8, Zala spent several years in schools in Városlőd and

Pápa Pápa is a historical town in Veszprém county, Hungary, located close to the northern edge of the Bakony Hills, and noted for its baroque architecture. With its 32,473 inhabitants (2011), it is the cultural, economic and tourism centre of the re ...

. He studied under

Edmund Hellmer Edmund Ritter von Hellmer (12 November 1850, Vienna – 9 March 1935, Vienna), born Edmund Hellmer and ennobled in 1912, was an Austrian sculptor who worked in the styles of Historicism and Art Nouveau. Life Hellmer studied architecture at ...

and

Kaspar von Zumbusch Kaspar lemens EduardZumbusch (23 November 1830 – 27 September 1915), as of 1888 Ritter von Zumbusch (a nobiliary particle), was a German sculptor, born at Herzebrock, Westphalia, who became a pre-eminent sculptor of neo-Baroque monuments in Vi ...

at the

Vienna Academy The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien) is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. History The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy modelled on the Accademia di Sa ...

at the age of 21 and then under Josep Knábl, Max Wittman, Michael Wagmüller, and Eberle Siriusat at the Munich Academy. Along with Janos Fadrusz and Alajos Strobl, Zala studied at the Budapest Academy. Gabor arkangyal

His first work of renown upon his return to Hungary was a marble statue named "Mary and Magdalene" in 1884, winning the academy gold medal and the prize of the Hungarian Council of Fine Arts. His tombstone of József Csukássi won him a gold medal in Antwerp. While he began working on a statue of Adolf Huszár and didn't complete it; he did complete "The Martyrs of Arad" of the Liberty Monument in Arad in 1894 which included a statue of

Mátyás Hunyadi Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several mi ...

. He was commissioned to produce numerous neo-baroque memorials including "Soldier" (1889–93), which is a cannon metal statue of a Honvéd (private soldier) on the Dísz Square in

to commemorate the 'defenders of the homeland' who fought in the

Hungarian War of Independence The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 or fully Hungarian Civic Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas. Although th ...

. He also created the equestrian statue of Gyula Andrássy with six other sculptors at the Millennium Memorial on Hősök Square in Budapest and a statue of the

Archangel Gabriel In Abrahamic religions ( Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ ...

at the same place which won a "Grand Prix" at the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

exhibition of 1900. He also completed the statue "Queen Elizabeth" in Vienna in 1932, and in 1934, he collaborated with Antal Orbán to produce "Statue of István Tisza", a statue which no longer exists. Notable portraits include "Bust of Antal Ligeti" (1887), "

Franz Josef I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

" (1905) in

Kerepesi Cemetery Kerepesi Cemetery (Hungarian: ''Kerepesi úti temető'' or ''Kerepesi temető'', official name: ''Fiumei úti nemzeti sírkert'', i.e. "Fiume Road National Graveyard") is the most famous cemetery in Budapest. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in ...

, Budapest, the '' Ferenc Deák'' monument (1914) in

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also other alternative names) is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat of Csongrád-Csanád county. The University of Szeged is one of the m ...

, Jenő Zsigmondy, and

Mór Jókai Móric Jókay de Ásva (, known as ''Mór Jókai''; 18 February 1825 – 5 May 1904), outside Hungary also known as Maurus Jokai or Mauritius Jókai, was a Hungarian nobleman, novelist, dramatist and revolutionary. He was an active participant ...

, and women such as Ilona Lukács (Béla Jármay's wife), Róza Laborfalvy and

Lujza Blaha Lujza Blaha (''Ludovika Reindl''; 1850–1926) was a Hungarian actress and singer. She was known as "the nation's nightingale", an epithet given her by writer Mór Jókai. ''"First published in the Time Out Budapest magazine's monthly column "Magy ...

Legacy

Upon his death on 31 July 1937, Zala was given a state funeral and buried at Kerepesi Cemetery, with a tombstone made by

Miklós Ligeti Miklós Ligeti (May 1, 1871 – December 10, 1944) was a Hungarian sculptor and artist. His sculptural style integrated elements of impressionism and realism. Early life Ligeti was born in Pest. At first a pupil of Alajos Stróbl in Buda ...

. The

Hungarian National Gallery The Hungarian National Gallery (also known as Magyar Nemzeti Galéria), was established in 1957 as the national art museum. It is located in Buda Castle in Budapest, Hungary. Its collections cover Hungarian art in all genres, including the works ...

today is in possession of some 30 of Zala's works. A commemorative plaque to Zala is embedded in the pavement outside his former villa in Budapest.

References

External links

www.zalagyorgy.info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zala, Gyorgy 1858 births 1937 deaths People from Lendava Burials at Kerepesi Cemetery 20th-century Hungarian sculptors 19th-century Hungarian sculptors