Die skandinavischen gemälde der jahrhundertwende im museum der bildenden künste zu budapest

Abstract

Summary It is interesting to examine the flourishing Hungarian‐Scandinavian art connections at the turn of the century. We get a bright view of the historical and socio‐economical background in Hungary at this time, when Nordic paintings ‐ which are the only subject of this study — as well as sculptures, paquettes, water‐colours, pastells and etchings were exhibited and acquired by private collectors and the Gouvernment for the 1896 establishment of the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest. The result of this enrichment of the collection is that the Museum in Budapest now owns a good selection of Scandinavian art from the decades around the turn of the century. The period from 1880 to 1920 appears as one of the most outstanding in Northern European fine art. The works of Scandinavian artists were regularly and successfully exhibited all over the world, including Budapest. Several Scandinavian artists won prizes at exhibitions in Budapest. Two leading Nordic artists, Anders Zorn from Sweden and Akseli Gallen‐Kallela from Finland, were not only often represented by their works at Hungarian exhibitions, but they themselves visited Hungary and and made friends there. With rime some of the Nordic artists, whose works are part of the collection in the Budapest Museum, lost their former internationality and fame, but their paintings are still of interest to researchers in a native context. Therefore, a report of this kind, of a forgotten collection at the other edge of Europe is of importance, apart from listing the wellknown masterpieces by Scandinavian artists.