Best of Budapest & Hungary

The Judit Virág Gallery in Budapest will present a new all-art exhibition entitled Rome-Budapest, featuring Rome-related paintings, sculptures and artworks by renowned Hungarian artists from February 22 to March 28.

    Through the works of classical and contemporary artists, the public can learn about the influence of the Italian capital on the Hungarian cultural community of the 19th and 20th centuries, the gallery said in a statement on Monday.

    The exhibition will feature around 100 works by Vilmos Aba-Novák, Lajos Gulácsy, Ilona Keserü, Károly Markó, Károly Patkó, Judit Reigl and János Vaszary, among others, on loan from private collections and public institutions.

    After the previous exhibitions in Berlin and Paris, the organizers are now trying to present the most comprehensive picture yet of how the Italian capital has become one of the most inspiring places for Hungarian art. "The picturesque landscapes of Italy have always fascinated European artists and writers. At the Hungarian Academy in Rome, many Hungarian artists have spent longer or shorter periods of time studying antique, Renaissance and Baroque monuments," the press release quotes Anna Kelen, the gallery's chief art historian, as saying.

    The Rome-Budapest exhibition and the accompanying art publication summarize the artistic trends of the century and a half from 1800 to 1948, based on new research. The book of studies is co-authored by Gábor Kaszás and Pál Szeredi Merse.