The life’s work of Pál Szinyei Merse, an outstanding master of nineteenth-century Hungarian painting and one of the most influential figures in Hungarian art, is the subject of the latest exhibition at the Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest. The exhibition of around 120 works examines the connections between the paintings in Szinyei Merse’s œuvre and the cult surrounding the artist. As the evolution of his art and the history of his cult unfold side by side, visitors are offered a new perspective on the artist’s prominent position in cultural history.

The exhibition presents Szinyei Merse’s key works in their Hungarian context and in relation to thematic and painterly parallels from the international (primarily German, Austrian and French) art scene of his times. More than twenty paintings by international artists have been kindly loaned to the show by distinguished public and private collections, including masterpieces by Monet, Sisley, Corot, Courbet and Gainsborough. The exhibition provides not only a rich selection of Szinyei Merse’s œuvre, including several pieces rarely seen in public, but also a detailed overview of his cult, revealed through the works of past masters such as Károly Ferenczy, József Rippl-Rónai and Aurél Bernáth, and contemporary artists including Gyula Konkoly, Endre Tót and Ábel Szabó.

Hungarian National Gallery in Budapest, 12 November 2021 – 13 February 2022.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue in Hungarian and English. Curators of the exhibition are Orsolya Hessky, Réka Krasznai and Adrienn Prágai.

Read more: https://en.mng.hu/exhibitions/canvas-and-cult-the-art-of-pal-szinyei-merse-1845-1920/