Little Princess statue

The original 50 cm statuette of the Little Princess statue sitting on the railings of the Danube promenade in Budapest 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."

"I modeled it after my own daughter - says László Marton in his studio (2007) - she was maybe six years old and playing in the garden. She dressed as a princess: laid a bathrobe on her shoulders and put a crown on her head. I managed to capture this moment and immediately felt that this was a successful work of art. Years later, the capital requested a statue from me. I immediately thought of the "Little Princess" and luckily we managed to find the place where the statue feels good."

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.