YBL, Miklós

Hungarian architect. He was one of Europe's leading architects in the mid to late nineteenth century as well as Hungary's most influential architect during his career. His most well-known work is the Hungarian State Opera House in Budapest (1875-84).

After graduating from the Institute of Technology (the Politechnikum) in Vienna, Ybl became Mihály Pollack's assistant in 1832 and worked in Henrik Koch's (1781-1861) office between 1836 and 1840. Following this, he moved to Munich and then to Italy to study. After his return, he entered into partnership with Ágoston Pollack, the son of Mihály Pollack; together they refurbished the Ikervár castle of Count Lajos Batthyány. His first main work was the church in Fót, built between 1845 and 1855.

His early, large projects were built in Romantic style, influenced by eastern motifs. Although RomanesqueGLOSSARYStyle of art and architecture prevailing throughout most of Europe in the 11th and 12th centuries, the first style to achieve such international currency. The dominant art of the Middle Ages was architecture, and 'Romanesque', like 'Gothic', is primarily an architectural term that has been extended to the other arts of the period. As the name suggests, it indicates a derivation from Roman art, and sometimes Romanesque is used to cover all the developments from Roman architecture in the period from the collapse of the Roman Empire until the flowering of the Gothic roughly AD 500-1200. More usually, however, it is applied to a distinctive style that emerged, almost simultaneously, in several countries - France, Germany, Italy, Spain - in the 11th century. It is characterized most obviously by a new massiveness of scale, reflecting the greater political and economic stability that followed a period when Christian civilization seemed in danger of extinction. Romanesque painting and sculpture are generally strongly stylized, with little of the naturalism and humanistic warmth of classical or later Gothic art. The forms of nature are freely translated into linear and sculptural designs which are sometimes majestically calm and severe and at others are agitated by a visionary excitement that can become almost delirious. Because of its expressionistic distortion of natural form, Romanesque art, as with other great non-naturalistic styles of the past, has had to wait for the revolution in sensibility brought about by the development of modern art in order to be widely appreciated. shapes also occur in his later buildings, after his second study tour to Italy from 1860 he became interested in the possibility of the revitalisation of the Italian Renaissance style, and designed several Neo-Renaissance buildings. Many of his buildings became, and indeed are still today, determinant elements of the cityscape of Budapest: Saint Stephen's Basilica (1867-91), the Rác Thermal Bath, the former Palace of Customs, (1871-74), and the throne room and Krisztinaváros wing of the Royal Palace. He also built countless churches, apartments and castles in the provinces.

The annual Hungarian architectural prize founded in 1953 was named after him in his honour.