Collections of the Hungarian National Gallery [antikvár]

The Hungarian National Gallery, housing Hungarian paintings, drawings, prints and sculpture, was founded in 1957. The majority of the works came from two large collections, that of the New Hungarian Picture Gallery in the Museum of Fine Arts, and that of the Municipal Picture Gallery. These two collections formed the nucleus of the Hungarian National Gallery, and during the past fifteen years, they have been enlarged and enriched by subsequent acquisitions. This book was edited by István Solymár, Deputy Director of the Gallery, while leading members of the different departments have selected and introduced the works of the four major collections, paintings, drawings and prints, statues and medals. In their introductions, they trace the development of Hungarian art from the Reform Age to the present day. Originally, the collection contained only works from the nineteenth century onwards, but in 1974, with new and larger premises, it was possible to incorporate the medieval material from the department of Old Hungarian Art in the Museum of Fine Arts. This new collection will be introduced in a later book. The present volume contains 202 colour and black-and-white reproductions. The rehousing of the Hungarian Na- INTRODUCTION tional Gallery into the Royal Palace at Buda was a significant turning-point in the career of our national treasures. Considering the Gallery's great role in public education and the international interest shown towards it, this was an event of great significance. The Royal Palace, the historical centre of the capital and the country, is now the home of many national and municipal institutions, the National Gallery included, representing Hungarian art from earliest times to the present day. Every period of art has shown that true masterpieces are created only by artists working in the spirit of progress. The revelation of everything socially outdated, the perception of new ideas and the expression of popular demand have always been the motives behind Hungarian fine arts. The desire to create something of social value has been the aim of every artist, from the medieval stonemason to the artists of today. The art collectors and curators—people and institutions—mentioned in this book have done a great service for posterity in enriching the heritage and self-recognition of the nation. From the time it was founded in 1957, until it moved to the Royal Palace, the Hungarian National Gallery was housed in the old building of the Supreme Court and had a permanent exhibition of the history of Hungarian painting from the nineteenth century to the Liberation in 1945. The corridors were taken up by the sculptural works of two centuries. The collection of medals was given a minor place, and water colours, drawings and