In collaboration with the Gustave Moreau Museum in Paris, the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest will stage an exhibition displaying the works of one of the most outstanding painters of Symbolism. The exhibition can be seen in the Ionic and Pergamon halls of the Budapest museum between 19th February - 3rd May 2009. The event is made especially significant since no other exhibition has ever been devoted solely to Moreau in the Central European region as his works have only been shown along with those of other artists in Germany and Austria.
The curator of the exhibition, Dr. Ferenc Tóth, will select the material from the collection of the Gustave Moreau Museum in cooperation with Dr. Marie-Cécile Forest, the director of the Gustave Moreau Museum. This selection of some 120 works consisting of about 60 oil paintings and watercolours, and the same number of drawings will be organised around mythological and mythical figures (Salome, Orpheus, Prometheus, Hercules, Jupiter, Leda, the Unicorn) that played a central part in Moreau’s art.
Land of Myths The Art of Gustave Moreau
Each unit of the exhibition will consist of one or two impressive large works that occupy a prominent place in Moreau’s oeuvre and will be complemented by related small paintings, preparatory studies, drawings and watercolours. We wish to add three important works from other museums to our selection of the Gustave Moreau Museum’s unique collection: the oil painting entitled “Orpheus” from the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, and “The Apparition” and “Salome with a Lotus Flower” from the graphics collection of the Louvre.
The works will be selected for the exhibition in order to emphasise the novelty of Moreau’s painting and his important role in preparing the ground for modern artistic aspirations, including some surprising, purely abstract works.