Introduction of the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest

THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BUDAPEST

A B r i e f H i st ory of the M u seum of Fin e Arts, B u da pest

1871 – The Esterházy Collection, the most

Museum of Fine Arts, and this is followed in 1975

important of the aristocratic art collections in

by the Hungarian Old Masters; these works are

Hungary, was purchased by the Hungarian state

rehoused in the new Hungarian National Gallery.

in 1870–71, and formed the basis of the National

2012 and beyond – The institutions of the Museum

Picture Gallery, the predecessor to the present

of Fine Arts and the Hungarian National Museum

museum.

Gallery are reunited. The “Liget Budapest Project”

1896 – As part of the nationwide celebrations to

is launched, to rehabilitate the City Park and

mark 1000 years since the Hungarians first arrived

its surroundings – part of the project involves

in the Carpathian Basin, an Act of Parliament orders

building the New National Gallery by 2019. Having

the construction of a new Museum of Fine Arts.

been separated for decades, the Hungarian and

1906 – The Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest is

international collections are being brought back

officially opened on 1 December 1906, in the

together again: under the new scheme, Old Masters

presence of Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria and

of all nationalities up to the year 1800 are to be

King of Hungary.

housed in the Museum of Fine Arts; the 19th- and

1957 – The collection of 19th- and 20th-century

20th-century collections, as well as contemporary

Hungarian art – following the Soviet example – is

artworks, will grace the halls of the New National

separated from the international works at the

Gallery.

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An Outline of the Perm anent Collections

Egyptia n A rt The Collection of Egyptian Art, comprising nearly 4000 items, is among the richest of its kind in Central Europe.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a Hungarian–Polish expedition carried out excavations in Central Egypt; in 1964 in Nubia, a colossal archaeology rescue campaign was concluded with international collaboration; and in 1983, excavations at Thebes yielded a wealth of fascinating material. The Egyptian collection of the Museum of Fine Arts is unique in featuring objects acquired from Hungarian excavation projects. Among the many remarkable works of art, highlights include the Statue of Crown Prince Sheshonq (9th century BCE), a Seated Cat (3rd century BCE), and a recently purchased, 4000-year-old Magic Wand, carved from a hippopotamus tusk.

STATUE OF PRINCE SHESONQ, 874–850 B.C.E.

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Cl assical An ti q u ities Amounting to more than 5000 items and consisting of marble statues, textiles, pottery, as well as bronze and glass objects, this collection embraces the entire period of antiquity. It offers a lively selection of Greek, Etruscan, Roman and Greco-Egyptian art, featuring some exceptional pieces such as the “Budapest Dancer”, a Greek figure of a maiden; the Grimani Jug, a masterpiece of Classical Greek bronzework; and, evoking the Golden Age of Augustus, three relief plates from the renowned series depicting the Battle of Actium, a crucial turning point in the history of the Roman Empire.

STATUE OF A GIRL (“THE BUDAPEST DANCER”), ca. 240–220 B.C.E.

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Ol d M a sters Gall ery Among the 3000 paintings in the collection, the most abundant section traces the glorious history of Italian art, from the early geniuses of Giotto and Duccio, through Renaissance masters like Raphael, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese, up to the age of Tiepolo. A gem from the collection of Netherlandish paintings is the Sermon of St John the Baptist by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Masterpieces

by Van Dyck, Jordaens and Frans Hals allow a glimpse into the 17th-century Golden Age of Dutch and Flemish art. The Spanish section, one of the most significant of its kind in Europe, boasts paintings by El Greco, Velázquez and Goya. Prominent works by Holbein the Elder, Cranach, Dürer and Maulbertsch enrich the collection of German and Austrian art. The French collection, though more modest in its dimensions, includes such noted giants as Poussin and Claude Lorrain; Reynolds and Constable are among the representatives of British art.

AGNOLO DI COSIMO BRONZINO: VENUS, CUPID AND JEALOUSY, ca. 1548–1550

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ALBRECHT DÜRER, PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG MAN, ca. 1500-1510

Sc ul ptu res This collection encompasses the history of European sculpture up until the 19th century. It shelters among its 600 items such jewels as Leonardo’s equestrian statuette and the Man of Sorrows by Verrocchio.

The small bronzes from the Renaissance and Baroque periods also deserve their high reputation.

There is a substantial collection of medieval German, French and Netherlandish sculpture, including several “Beautiful Madonnas” from the 14th century and wooden sculptures from the Late Medieval workshop of Riemenschneider.

Austrian Baroque art, the brightest period of sculpture in the region, is represented with a number of fine works by Donner and Messerschmidt.

LEONARDO DA VINCI, ASCRIBED TO: MOUNTED WARRIOR, FIRST HALF OF THE 16TH CENTURY

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Pr i n ts a nd Dr aw ing s

EUGÈNE DELACROIX: HORSE FRIGHTENED

BY LIGHTNING, 1825-1829

This extensive collection of almost 10,000 drawings and 100,000 prints has its fair share of masterworks by such great artists as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Dürer, Altdorfer, Wolf Huber, Poussin, Rembrandt, Delacroix, Manet, Van Gogh and Cézanne. There are also countless noteworthy curiosities and outstanding landmarks from the history of prints and drawings, from the earliest times until the present day. Unfortunately, because paper is so sensitive to light, the items in this collection can only be displayed in temporary exhibitions, for limited periods, in the special conditions of the Graphic Cabinet, a hall which preserves its early 20th-century furnishing.

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De partment of Art after 1800 This department houses around

and Chagall provide an overview of

a thousand works – paintings and

the diverse trends in art that emerged

sculptures – which were produced

in the first half of the 20th century,

after 1800. The 19th-century French

while insight into some of the more

collection, ranging from Romanticism

recent tendencies is given by works

to Post-Impressionism, includes

by Albers, Vasarely, Anthony Caro

paintings by Delacroix, Corot, Courbet,

and Abakanowicz. The photo and

Manet, Monet, Cézanne and Gauguin.

media collection, founded at the end

Sculptures by Rodin and Maillol

of 2010 and expanding continuously

complete the image of this period.

ever since, is based on some artistic

Austrian Biedermeier art is represented

photographs that have long been

by paintings by Waldmüller, Amerling

owned by the Museum of Fine Arts.

and Danhauser. A taste of German

Among the most valuable pieces are

painting from the mid-19th century

some vintage Aleksandr Rodchenko

is offered in the form of canvases

prints and some key moments from the

by Leibl, Lenbach and Menzel, while

œuvre of Nathan Lerner. The collection

Symbolism is evoked by Böcklin,

also houses several important works

Stuck and Khnopff, three important

by émigré Hungarian artists (such as

artists of this movement. Paintings by

Lucien Hervé, György Kepes, Endre Tót

Kokoschka, Slevogt, Utrillo, Severini

and Orsolya Drozdik).

OSKAR KOKOSCHKA: VERONICA’S VEIL, 1909

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Vasarely M useum Established in 1987 by the artist himself, the Vasarely Museum in Budapest – a separate arm of the Museum of Fine Arts, located in a tranquil part of Budapest (Óbuda), close to the banks of the Danube – provides perhaps a more comprehensive overview of the œuvre of Victor Vasarely (1906–1997) than any other public institution in the world. The building used to be a storehouse for the grand 18th-century Zichy Palace, and was turned into a museum after Vasarely (original name: Győző Vásárhelyi) donated a rich selection of his works to the Museum of Fine Arts. The artist, a major figure in the international kinetic and op art movements, donated works to the Museum of Fine Arts several times, beginning in 1959.

VICTOR VASARELY: DIAG-VERT, 1978

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M ajor E xhibitions of the M useum of Fine Arts, Budapest, 2010–2017 Degas to Picasso – French Masterpieces from the Pushkin Museum, Moscow Nuda Veritas. Gustav Klimt and the Origins of the Vienna Secession 1895–1905 Fernando Botero

2010

CLAUDE MONET: CIRUELOS EN FLOR,

The Age of

1879

Pieter Bruegel – Netherlandish

El Greco to Rippl-Rónai – Marcell Nemes, Art Patron and Collector William Kentridge: ‘I am not me, the horse is not mine…’ – video projection

Drawings from the 16th Century St. Gallen Adventures – Hartung, Tàpies, Uecker and the Erker Phenomenon

2011

Cézanne and the Past – Tradition and Creation

Caravaggio to Canaletto – The Glory of Italian Baroque and Rococo Painting

Günther Uecker.

Material Becomes Picture

Helmut Newton 1920–2004 Egon Schiele and His Age – Masterpieces from the Leopold Museum Vienna

2013

2012

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PAUL CÉZANNE: THE BUFFET, 1877

Picasso.

The World of Toulouse-Lautrec

Transfigurations

Rembrandt and the Dutch Golden Age

1895–1972

Immendorff. Long Live Painting!

Modigliani A Revolution in Art – Russian Avant-Garde in the 1910s and 1920s

2014

– Avant-Garde Works from the Collection of the Ekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts

The Survivor’s Shadow. El Kazovsky (1948–2008)

in the Hungarian National Gallery

2015

HENRI DE TOULOUSELAUTREC: JANE AVRIL, 1893

Baselitz. Preview with Review

in the Hungarian National Gallery

in the Hungarian National Gallery

2017

2016

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Touring e xhibitions of the M useum of Fine Arts Budapest – Hungarian National Gallery 2015–2017

Held at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, in 2010,

The reconstruction work, lasting three years, mainly

the exhibition entitled Treasures from Budapest.

involves restoring the captivating Romanesque Hall,

European Masterpieces from Leonardo to Schiele

which was used as a warehouse after suffering severe

marked the first occasion for an ensemble of

damage in World War II, and the Renaissance

spectacular masterpieces from the collection of the

Michelangelo Hall. Around 40 percent of the

Museum of Fine Arts – Hungarian National Gallery to

museum’s total area will be renewed as part of this

be sent on loan abroad. Any tourist visiting Budapest

project. While the Museum of Fine Arts is closed for

is almost certain to pass through Heroes’ Square,

renovation, some of the most valuable masterpieces

where they cannot miss the imposing building of the

from its collection are on a round-the-world tour

Museum of Fine Arts, constructed in 1906, home to

that will only end when they can return home

a comprehensive collection of European art from the

after the project is completed. In parallel with the

late medieval period to modernism.

reconstruction of the museum building, the collections

In 1975, the Hungarian artworks in the Museum of

of the two institutions are undergoing restructuring,

Fine Arts were transferred to the Hungarian National

following a new paradigm: Hungarian and international

Gallery in Buda Castle, where they are still housed

art before 1800 will be housed in the Museum of Fine

today. This relocation enabled the Hungarian collection

Arts, while works dating after 1800 will be moved to

to be expanded and supplemented. The two divisions

the New National Gallery – this exciting new building

– Hungarian and international – were first physically

in the heart of Budapest’s City Park was designed by

separated in 1957, but since the two institutions

the internationally acclaimed architecture firm SANAA,

were reunified in 2012, Hungary’s foremost national

and is expected to be ready by 2019.

art collections can once again be viewed in the

The touring exhibition entitled Masterpieces from

context of universal art history. Additionally,

Budapest showcases the extraordinary wealth,

masterpieces of Hungarian art, still largely

diversity and artistic quality of the art in the

undiscovered outside Hungary, can reclaim their

collections of the Museum of Fine Arts – Hungarian

rightful place in the international art canon – this is

National Gallery, Budapest. But this is only a taste!

confirmed by the success of our selections

The texts and images in this booklet, introducing our

showcasing Hungarian masterpieces abroad.

touring exhibitions between 2015 and 2017, offer just

Comprehensive renovation work began on the iconic

a sample of the artworks preserved in the

building of the Museum of Fine Arts in February 2015,

Budapest museums.

when the “Liget Budapest Project” was launched.

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Major touring exhibitions of the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest: Raphael to Schiele – Masterpieces from the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest Milan, Palazzo Reale, 17 September 2015 – 7 February 2016 The World of Toulouse-Lautrec – The Henri ToulouseLautrec collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest Rome, Museo dell’Ara Pacis, 3 December 2015 – 8 May 2016

FRANCISCO JOSÉ DE GOYA Y LUCIENTES: PORTRAIT OF

Mantegna, Dürer, Hogarth – The Most Beautiful Engravings

MANUELA CEÁN BERMÚDEZ,

from the Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest Târgu Mureș (Romania), Palace of Culture,

ca. 1790-1793

11 December 2015 – 28 February 2016 Masterpieces from Budapest – Dürer, Greco, Tiepolo, Manet, Rippl-Rónai Paris, Musée du Luxembourg 9 March – 10 July 2016 Vasarely – MultipliCITE, Fondation Vasarely, Aix-en-Provence 16 June – 2 October 2016 Masterworks from Budapest – Renaissance to the Avant-garde Madrid, Museum Thyssen-Bornemissza 17 February – 28 May 2017

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The ne wly renovated M useum of Fine Arts Budapest

As part of the Liget Budapest Project, Europe’s largest new museum development, the Museum of Fine Arts Budapest is undergoing renovation work, which will bring the institution up to the standards expected in the 21st century, whilst maintaining its traditional heritage.

The reconstruction work, lasting three years in total, will affect around 40% of the museum’s floor space, resulting in new exhibition rooms, accessways and modern storage premises.

The building is being renewed inside and out, and is expected to reopen its doors to visitors in mid-2018. Another major component of the Liget Budapest Project is the New Hungarian National Gallery, which will be just a short walk away across the City Park. Designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architects SANAA, the New Hungarian National Gallery is scheduled to open by the end of this decade, when a new era in Hungarian art gallery history will begin: the Museum of Fine Arts will be the home of classical works by Old Masters, while the New Hungarian National Gallery will house artworks made after the year 1800.

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National M useum restor ation and stor age centre Budapest

The Liget Budapest Project also involves the construction of a specially designed warehouse and conservation-restoration complex. Located just a few hundred metres from the Museum of Fine Arts the new development will jointly cater for collections owned by the Museum of Ethnography and the New Hungarian National Gallery, in addition to the Museum of Fine Arts.

Opening in 2018 and covering almost 37,000 square metres of floor space, the world-class, up-to-the-minute complex will include warehouses, workshops, research rooms, studios and offices. The newly established Central European Research Institute for Art History will also be based here. The National Museum Restoration and Storage Centre will provide the ideal expert background and the latest technical conditions for storing, researching and conserving over 350,000 works of art.

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RAPHAEL: ESTERHร ZY MADONNA, ca. 1508

THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BUDAPEST

This booklet is intended as a brief introduction to the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest. For more details, please visit our website and follow us on social media. www.mfab.hu | www.instagram.com/szepmuveszeti/ www.facebook.com/szepmuveszeti/ Publisher: Dr Lรกszlรณ Baรกn Layout: Ave Sophia Design Studio | avesophia.com (c) Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest 2017