Step closer to the niche on the right side of the Coulisse Wall!
In the niche on the right, you will find the statue of the iconic communist thinkers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, philosophers in the 19th century, formed scientific socialism (Marxism). Besides several relevant ideas they also formulated hypotheses—such as just social order based on equality—which remained utopias. In their Communist Manifesto of 1848, they called on workers (proletariat) of the world to overthrow capitalism. In communist countries they became cultic figures.
From 1971, this statue stood in front of the so-called “White house”: the central office of the governing socialist party at Jászai Mari Square, Budapest. An interesting detail is that sculptor György Segesdi originally designed the statue to be made from chrome steel. The communist party leadership, however, wanted to honour the thinkers using finer material. Therefore, a compromise was made: the statue was designed in progressive cubist style, but it was made of gray granite, a more traditional material.
Sources: fortepan.hu, kozterkep.hu