Little Princess statue explained

Little Princess Statue, Budapest (Kiskirálylány)
Italic Title:no
Other Language 1:hu
Other Title 1:Kiskirálylány szobor (Statue)
Artist:László Marton
Height Metric:50 (1972)
Metric Unit:cm
Imperial Unit:in
City:Budapest, Hungary

The original 50 cm statuette of the Little Princess (Kiskirálylány) Statue sitting on the railings of the Danube promenade in Budapest, Hungary was created by László Marton (1925–2008) Munkácsy- and Kossuth Prize-winning sculptor in 1972.

The artist was inspired by his eldest daughter born from his first marriage. She often played in the Tabán wearing a princess costume and a crown made out of newspaper by her father, and at home as well, pretending her bathrobes were a mantle. This image prompted her father, the artist in the creation of this little statue.

László Marton writes: "Évike born from my first marriage, at the age of 5, was playing in a little princess costume in the Tabán playground. When I saw it, I immediately had the subject matter. Titled "Little Princess" I sculpted it as well. It was placed in an elegant location on the Danube promenade. Became a symbol of Budapest."[1]

A larger size copy of this statue was placed on the Danube promenade in 1990, and a second copy in Tapolca, the artist's hometown. A copy of the same statue stands in Japan too – donated by the artist – in front of the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space cultural center's concert hall. The original statuette (1972) is owned by Hungarian National Gallery.

References

Webpage: "Memory of my Father", http://www.littleprincessstatue.com

Notes and References

  1. Quote from László Marton's autobiographical book "My Walkof Life".