LÁSZLÓ MARTON, Hungarian sculptor (born 5. November 1925 in Tapolca – died 5. October 2008 in Budapest).
László Marton, prominent Hungarian sculpture artist, recipient of the Munkácsy Prize, the Kossuth Prize, and the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary.
There are 150 of his works in public places in Hungary, more than forty of them in Budapest alone. László Marton was one of the most important creators of Hungarian sculpture in the 20th century.
Curriculum vitae
His talent for sculpture was already evident in his early youth – the contemporary press wrote enthusiastically about the 15-year-old sculptural prodigy!, – even though there were no artists in his circle. On the advice of Béni Ferenczy and Elemér Fülöp, he studied in Pest with a scholarship from Zala County. From 1940 to 1946, he continued his studies at the Hungarian School of Applied Arts, and from 1946 to 1952, he trained in sculpture at the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts. His masters were Pál Pátzay and Béni Ferenczy. In addition to these two sculptors, he also recognised Bernáth Aurel and István Szőnyi as his masters.
From his early youth, he lived solely for sculpture. He was an extremely prolific and busy creator who was recognised both nationally and internationally.
Family: His parents were Károly Marton, master blacksmith from Tapolca, and Mária Bóday. (Boday and Tibola families – Zala County, Tapolcza). The artist had two marriages and three daughters.
After his death, he was laid to rest in St. Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest and buried in Szigliget.
In 2011, the town of Hévíz posthumously unveiled a bust of László Marton on Deák Square in Hévíz to honour the artist and his timeless work.
Tapolca, the artist’s birthplace, which he always considered his home – and where many sculptures remember László Marton’s deeply profound world of ideas – still honours the memory of its famous son with great respect.
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary in 2025, representatives of the city, contemporary artists, citizens and students of the city’s Gymnasium honoured the artist and his work with a large-scale Memorial Ceremony ‘Marton100’. On the occasion of the artist’s 100th birthday, a memorial plaque was ceremoniously unveiled in the city pantheon on the shore of Lake Malom (Malom-tó) in Tapolca.
His work
He created his first known statue, ‘The Shepherd Boy’ (Pásztorfiú), at the age of 17! (Today, this statue can be seen in Tapolca, in front of the artist’s former birthplace.)
His works have always been linked to the traditions of figurative sculpture. His early works feature powerful, corpulent figures brimming with life, while his later works tend to follow the style of statuettes, which are softer, more sensitive, and more expressive in form. Good examples of this are the 1977 sculpture “Great Sadness” (Veszprém), the 1980 sculpture of the poet Attila József entitled “By the Danube” on the banks of the Danube next to the Parliament (Budapest), and the famous “Little Princess” (1989), the original of which was made in 1972 and depicts his eldest daughter, Évike.
Some of his reconstruction works are worth highlighting here, as they speak of artistic humility and appreciation for the art of others. One example of this is the reconstruction of György Vastagh Jr.’s monumental equestrian statue of General Görgey, – which was completely destroyed in World War II.–, in Buda Castle (Budapest). This monumental and fascinating work was created by Marton at the age of 73! – Unfortunately, this equestrian statue is temporarily hidden from view due to construction work in the castle district.
Many well-known Hungarian personalities have been immortalised, and these public sculptures are famous and beloved throughout the city and the country. His most famous statue is probably the ‘Little Princess’, which sits with her paper crown not only on the Danube promenade in Budapest, but also in Tokyo, as a gift from the artist, and in Tapolca, the artist’s birthplace.
His works can be found in the National Gallery, in many Hungarian public collections, and abroad, including in the collections of the Prince of Wales and the Emperor of Japan. But they have also cemented Hungary’s reputation in many other countries around the world.
