foreword (László Baán

1. feJeZet foreword

unting and art have been inextricably linked since prehistoric times, from cave drawings depicting hunting rituals, through images from the ancient near east, to millennia of european artworks on a plethora of hunting themes. A conscious effort to present this link was made by the organisers of the very first international Hunting exhibition held in Vienna in 1910, which established a tradition that continues to this day. Hunting, and the multifaceted relationship between hunting and art, was most recently the focus of the cultural historical spotlight at the world Hunting expo in 1971, which was likewise held in budapest. An extraordinarily rich and diverse array of hunting-related depictions can be found in the collections of the Museum of fine Arts and the Hungarian national gallery, embracing a wide variety of themes and genres. the selection compiled for the world of Hunting and nature exhibition hosted in budapest in 2021 presents different aspects of this subject through ninety-nine artworks representing every collection of the Museum of fine Arts and the Hungarian national gallery. the works can help us to understand the cultural history of hunting and fishing in europe, its social status, its spiritual content, and its role as entertainment. the album features pieces by such outstanding figures from Hungarian and international art as Albrecht dürer, barend van orley, rembrandt, Jan fijt, Alonso Cano, károly Markó the elder, pál szinyei Merse, János Vaszary, Mihály Zichy and Miklós ligeti, enriching the thematically based selection with boundless aesthetic quality. i dedicate this publication to everyone who is interested in some of the more rarely seen treasures of the Museum of fine Arts and the Hungarian national gallery, and who wishes to obtain a comprehensive and varied picture of the wide-ranging connections between hunting and art.

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lÁsZló bAÁn Director General of the Museum of Fine Arts –Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest

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