When admiring the fascinating artworks of famous painters, we often wonder about the pretty women portrayed in their works, trying to rummage into their soul to dig out stories of stormy relationships and heartbreaking love stories. While we know so much about Picasso’s mistresses and the female company of French Impressionists, the muses of Magyar artists often remain mysterious, even though they helped shape Hungary’s fine-art history. The newest exhibition at Budapest’s Kieselbach Gallery examines the love lives of popular Hungarian painters, presenting the special ladies of their lives.

If an exhibition opening is so popular that people who get crowded out are given free chimney cake, that is a sign of an excellent display – and this was the scene at the exhibit-opening event of Kieselbach Gallery on November 3rd, when “Painters, Muses, Lovers” made its debut. The exhibit collectively showcases the most significant paintings of Magyar artists, while also revealing secret stories about their love lives.

If you strive to learn more about Hungarian fine arts, a solid first step is visiting this exhibit, as it showcases several significant works of Magyar artists. Furthermore, it is made all the more intriguing by the secret stories about the most iconic Hungarian painters that are revealed here, such as that Mihány Munkácsy’s wife, Cécile Papier, was the world’s first female painter manager, who carefully planned her husband’s appearances at events or that Dezső Czigány killed four people, including his second wife, and possibly several other women; or that for many years, László Mednyánszky dedicated his diary entries to his dead lover, who in this case was a peasant boy.

At this exhibit, visitors can take a sneak peek into the soul of several other significant painters as well, such as József Rippl-Rónai, Pál Szinyei Merse, and Róbert Berény. Visitors can learn about the lives of famous Magyar painter couples, such as Mária Modok and Béla Czóbel, as well as Sándor Galimberti and Valéria Dénes. In addition to investigating secret love stories, we can also admire several famous artworks, such as János Vaszary’s “Lady in Purple”, as well as the paintings of Tivadar Csontváry Kosztka.

These love stories are revealed in the latest Hungarian-language book of Magyar communications expert Krisztián Nyáry, which is available for purchase with a discount at the gallery. Furthermore, it is worthwhile to take photographs with the paintings at the exhibition, as visitors who upload pictures with hashtags will have the chance to win a truly valuable prize.

The exhibition is on view between Monday to Friday 10am-6pm until November 27, 2016.

Kieselbach Gallery
Address: Budapest 1055, Szent István körút 5