The other self-portrait

Self-portrait by Tivadar Csontváry Kosztka (oil on canvas, 55.5 × 45.5 cm, unsigned, Hungarian National Gallery, inv. no. 6585)

MúzeumCafé 16.

author: Péter Molnos art historian

A colourful yet not particularly pleasing compilation could be put together of stories about the destruction or loss of outstanding Hungarian works of art – Vajda’s drawings left on a tram, the tribulations of Szobotka’s cubist paintings in Paris during World War I, or the suitcase unfortunately forgotten by Kassák in Vienna in 1926, which […]

Where and how could the oeuvreof Tivadar Csontváry Kosztka be shown in a deserving way?

József Sárkány Art historian, Janus Pannonius Museum, Pécs: Where? Of course in Pécs. At that time the paintings were threatened with complete destruction due to their inappropriate treatment. Is it really only being exhibited in the capital that would authenticate Csontváry’s universal art? Surely, the relocation of the nine hole bridge in Hortobágy to the […]

International Museum Day

Future museum awards

MúzeumCafé 16.

author: Péter Hamvay

International Museum Day, held during the weekend closest to 18 May, draws thousands of people to the garden of the Hungarian National Museum in central Pest every year. Alongside the Night of Museums, it is the most significant event promoting museums in Hungary. The May celebration of museums is particularly important for provincial and small […]

Lajos Hevesi, Vienna’s most prominent critic at the turn of the century

He wanted to be a doctor, was called to be a journalist and became a critic

MúzeumCafé 15.

author: Ilona Sármány-Parsons

A hundred years ago, on 27 February 1910, an elderly gentleman called Ludwig Hevesi, the eminence grise of Viennese art life, put a bullet through his head in his home in Vienna. It is still a mystery why the reserved critic, who was respected by all and dearly loved by many, unexpectedly committed suicide. The […]

A museum is about people

Ferenc Csák, Director of the Hungarian National Gallery

MúzeumCafé 15.

author: Péter Hamvay

“I first studied economics and then political science at the University of Regensburg. However, the Department of Art History was rather near and I was lured to a lecture about Goya. The resulting detour finished with a degree. I studied with internationally renowned professors such as Jörg Traeger, and visited prominent institutions abroad, for example […]

The aesthetic adventure

Kornél Mundruczó, film director

MúzeumCafé 15.

author: Gergely Mézes

Kornél Mundruczó is looking for something similar in museums as in theatre and film: a product which offers free interpretation to the viewer and which concerns what is happening around us. Where else to meet him than in the Kino cinema, which he helped to establish and sponsor. Although it is small, he thinks that’s […]

To give an impetus to endeavours

László Csorba, historian, Director of the Hungarian National Museum

MúzeumCafé 15.

author: Erzsébet Marton

Perhaps we can talk about necessity rather than mission. All signs point in the direction that national museums will be needed for a long time. While globalization prevails and Europe becomes unified, it could easily be that language and cultural identity constitute the cementing forces of a nation. We can note important personalities, situations and […]

Neon Rice Field by the bank of the Thames

Stephen Deuchar – 12 years heading Tate Britain

MúzeumCafé 15.

author: Eszter Szablyár

In the summer of 2003 a gentleman with a moustache and spotless elegance was browsing through the treasures in the stuffy cellar of Teheran’s Contemporary Art Museum, having been allowed to enter as the director of London’s Tate Britain. He managed to convince his Iranian colleagues to loan something from the dusty storeroom – Francis […]

Museum education for decades

A living open-air museum: Haszmann Pál Ethnographic Museum

MúzeumCafé 15.

author: Tímea Bak-Dávid

When the Haszmann Pál Ethnographic Museum in the Transylvanian village of Csernáton was founded the aim was not for it to become a repository of dead objects from the past. Alongside its temporary exhibitions, visitors have the opportunity to experience the wealth of living traditions. From spring to autumn every year the garden of the […]

Small museum in Kecskemét survives

The Bozsó collection

MúzeumCafé 15.

author: Ádám Sztankay

János Bozsó bestowed his collection to the town of Kecskemét in 1975. The region’s largest exhibited private collection presents outstanding objects of Hungarian ethnography and European arts and crafts from the beginning of the 15th to the early 20th century. The budget of the institution, which operates as a foundation, is insignificant compared not only […]

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The other self-portrait

Self-portrait by Tivadar Csontváry Kosztka (oil on canvas, 55.5 × 45.5 cm, unsigned, Hungarian National Gallery, inv. no. 6585)

Where and how could the oeuvreof Tivadar Csontváry Kosztka be shown in a deserving way?

International Museum Day

Future museum awards

Lajos Hevesi, Vienna’s most prominent critic at the turn of the century

He wanted to be a doctor, was called to be a journalist and became a critic

A museum is about people

Ferenc Csák, Director of the Hungarian National Gallery

The aesthetic adventure

Kornél Mundruczó, film director

To give an impetus to endeavours

László Csorba, historian, Director of the Hungarian National Museum

Neon Rice Field by the bank of the Thames

Stephen Deuchar – 12 years heading Tate Britain

Museum education for decades

A living open-air museum: Haszmann Pál Ethnographic Museum

Small museum in Kecskemét survives

The Bozsó collection