To beat the heat and take in some culture, dive into one of Budapest’s many museums and galleries for classic photography, unique historic artefacts and 150 works by Matisse.
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Hieronymus Bosch
Between
Heaven and Hell – the Enigmatic World of Hieronymus Bosch presents nearly 90
works of art. Only ten are by the Dutch master himself,
almost half his total oeuvre, in fact, but they still leave you mesmerised as
you step out of the doors of the Museum of Fine Arts. Laid out in seven
sections, the exhibition opens with darkness right from the start, not
necessarily in its subject matter, but the dark-blue wall and dim
lighting bring out the insights of a devilish and angelic medieval
world and the new age that infiltrates it. The
aim is to bring Bosch's world to life, to evoke the spiritual and visual
culture of the late Middle Ages by presenting ideas about human
existence: interpreting human life as an earthly pilgrimage, with all its
crossroads, sinful mazes and sensual detours. Until 17 July. More details
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From Sisi’s Glove to Stalin’s Ear
Celebrating
the 220th anniversary of the Hungarian National Museum, this summer exhibition focuses on key moments in Hungarian
history. On display will be two historical relics in
particular. One is the glove of the Empress Elisabeth, known and revered here as Sisi. The wife of Habsburg
Emperor Franz Joseph was wearing the garment when she was stabbed to death by an
Italian anarchist by Lake Geneva on 10 September 1898. The other unusual artefact is a fragment of the left
ear from the statue of Stalin that was toppled over and broken up during the 1956
Uprising. In addition to these, the holdings of the museum's
storehouse were expanded to include the royal
seal of Ferdinand V in Hungarian and the farewell letter of General
József Nagysándor, one of the 13 executed by the Austrians at Arad in 1849. For a deeper look at the exhibition, see our longer feature here.
Until
21 August. More details
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Art Deco Budapest
Art Deco
Budapest – Posters, Lifestyle & the City (1925-1938) gives a comprehensive
picture of the characteristic visual
culture between the wars. Furniture, clothing, films and urban spaces all feature, with the focus on Hungarian
poster art and modern metropolitan
life. Most of the more than 250 works of
art are very rarely put on display, or even seen by the
public before. Exhibits reflect everything that
played a role in shaping public taste: the emergence of the new female ideal, the cult of modern
fashion, sport and health, novelties such as cars, radio and talking films, and new forms of entertainment such as jazz concerts and revues. For a more
detailed look at the exhibition, see our longer feature
article here. Until 28 August. More details
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Nicolás Muller
Born Miklós Müller in Orosháza in 1913, Nicolás Muller
takes his place among the pantheon of great Hungarian photographers who worked
mainly in black and white, and who spent most of their lives in exile. Like Capa,
Brassaï and Kertész, Muller worked in Paris, but the bulk of the images presented
in this retrospective, The Committed Gaze, were taken around Spain – hence
the involvement of the local Cervantes Institute and Spanish Ministry of
Culture. Settling in Madrid, Muller captured daily life in the capital, from
street vendors to distinguished members of society. Taken between 1930 and
1967, 126 mainly unpublished photos follow Muller’s travels and show how the
photographer, equally recognised in Spain, developed his art. At the Robert
Capa Contemporary Photography Center. Until 4 September. More
details
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Anna Mark
Anna Mark, a painter in her nineties, has lived in
Paris since 1958. Early on, locations and architecture became important in her work
but at About All Places at the Kisterem, you shouldn’t expect any specific
references to particular venues. The images rather capture the psychological
process of remembering a place that was important to the viewer. Contrast is
key here, between exterior and interior spaces, the works occupying two rooms
of the gallery. In one are monochrome reliefs made between 1980 and 2000 while
oil-on-paper pieces are presented in the other room, created around 1970. These
reflect a more intimate tone, with strong shades of red, black and pink. The
gallery is in a lovely spot in the tangle of streets of historic Pest, surrounded
by cafés. In tandem, a comprehensive solo exhibition will also
be on display at the Ferenczy Museum in Szentendre from the end of July. Until 9 September. More details
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Henri Matisse
Held in
collaboration with the Pompidou Centre in Paris, Henri Matisse –
The Colour of Ideas features more than 150 artefacts,
presenting his work in eight chronological and themed
sections, from the early days to pieces created in the 1950s. The
exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts also sheds light on the genre diversity
of Matisse's oeuvre, as in addition to around 30 paintings, unique and
duplicated graphic works (with special regard to art books and cover
designs) and 17 sculptures are also on display. In a separate section,
you can see the monumental glass window designs created for the
artist's late main work, the Dominican chapel in Vence. See
our full feature about the exhibition here. Until 16 October. More details
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Buzz in the Museum
One to take the kids to, although the younger ones
might be a bit scared of the huge bees. At this extremely visual show running until
the end of the year, the Natural History Museum draws attention to the
importance of our black-and-yellow friends. Jointly organised with the National Hungarian
Beekeeping Association. Buzz in the Museum presents the work of these
pollinators, including the honeybee, their role in the service of nature and
the survival of mankind, and the development of beekeeping and apiterotherapy. Until 31 December. More details
