We visited a special and fill the gap exhibition: the newly opened exhibition from Tivadar Csontváry Kosztka’s, one of the most famous Hungarian painters’ works. We never had occasion to see his huge main works side by side until now, but this time nearly one hundred of the artist's paintings and drawings can be seen. The exhibition is organically connected with an accompanying one, in which seven contemporary artists’ Csontváry paraphrases are viewable. And we can only praise the whole settlement. The contrast between the raw brick walls and the temporary ones, the lighting effects, the space subdivision, the additional films, interviews, interactive tools, the museum's educational programs makes Csontváry’s Genius a real XXI. century exhibition that satisfies the needs of the most prestigious galleries.

photo:m.cdn.blog.hu

The exhibition is placed in seventeen rooms. The interior design has been formed with 1200 square meters of wall built. The passage of the exhibition is concluded: the rooms are organically linked to each other. Visitors can also watch short movies in addition to the text information displayed on the walls and interactive tools help the inclusion. We can get information through touchscreens about Csontváry’s personal relationships or those geographical locations that are strongly manifested in his oeuvre. A glossary is displayed on an information wall, which interprets the unusual expressions of Csontvary’s oeuvre.

photo:files.embers-eg.webnode.hu

The exhibition is not passing chronologically, but is made up of thematic units. The themes are related to the characteristic motifs of Csontváry’s works: the connection between nature and the built environment, ancient heritage represented by the ruins, how the light unfolds, the events of the sky and the man’s transfiguration. Of course, the stars of the show are the "Big pictures": the enormous paintings named Taormina, Baalbek and Mary's Well. But interesting to note that an international conference will be organized in December as well, as part of the professional program.

photo:pctrs.network.hu

About the artist:

Tivadar Csontváry Kosztka (1853–1919) is one of the most influential figures in modern Hungarian art. It’s well observable, how his figures became more and more ethereal, unworldly in his different eras of his life work. His first period is about learning: Csontváry learned to draw and paint properly, according to the academic conventions. In the second period, he pushed off this conception, mainly had not paid attention to the technique, while in the third, mature era the drawing is no longer important, but the rhythm and colors. He was interested in the relationship between natural and artificial light. He created fully self-contained set of rules which means difficulties in the interpretation. Similar to Cezanne, Csontváry was actually an outsider in the world of art.