Exhibition ‘The Naked Man’ in Budapest
If I ask you to think of a famous nude painting, you will more than likely imagine a painting of a woman who is nude or nearly nude. Maybe Sandro Botticelli’s masterful “The Birth of Venus”, a full-figured body by Rubens or even Picasso’s “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon” come to mind. This makes sense because throughout the history of art the female body has been portrayed more often than the male body in the nude format. The latest exhibition at the Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art in Budapest, however, is focusing on the exact opposite, the male nude.
Before Playboy or nude photographs, there existed many titillating images of women barely dressed or completely undressed and these hung in the homes of the wealthiest patrons in plain view. These were acceptable for display in their salons and studies because of their mythological or religious subject matter. Mythological figures include Danae who is showered with gold coins or Venus who is often depicted brushing her hair or looking in the mirror. Religious figures include Bathsheba bathing or Susanna being spied upon by the elders. These women are depicted in a voyeuristic way, as they seem unaware of being watched. The female nude later became a subject matter in its own right that artists tried faithfully to capture on canvas and in stone or bronze. These works usually have what is termed a “male gaze”.
In classical antiquity the male body was a subject matter that was thoroughly explored. Later, however, the male body was mostly out of sight, usually hidden in full clothing or even armor, with the exception of a few mythological images or Christian martyrs.
This fascinating exhibition is going to explore the reasons for this change, including how the role of men adapted and other sociological reasons, by examining the works of art that depict the male body. It will look at how male artists depict their own bodies and what this reflects. And it will examine how women artists depict the male nude (the “female gaze”), something which has only been possible in more recent times since women artists were often barred from access to nude models in the past.
Beginning about 1900 in turn-of-the-century Vienna, the exhibition then continues through the 20th and 21st centuries examining the way the artists own identities and their relationship to the model changed. Eventually, the male nude also gains footing as an erotic image and one that can be viewed with a “gaze of desire”.
Works by artists such as Egon Schiele, Lovis Corinth, Erich Heckel, Robert Mapplethorpe, Oskar Kokoschka, Louise Bourgeois, Eduard Munch, David Hockney, Andy Warhol, and Gilbert & George will be included in the exhibition.
“The Naked Man” exhibition is possible in cooperation with the LENTOS Kunstmuseum Linz, who hosted an exhibition prior to this one. The Ludwig Museum of Budapest’s exhibition will incorporate more works by Central and Eastern European artists. It can be seen until June 30.
The Ludwig Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 am until 6 pm. It is located at Komor Marcell u. 1 and can be reached by metro and bus (see the website for more details).
TLD
Find cheap apartments in Budapest and take the train or bus to the Ludwig Museum to see this enthralling exhibition.
The Hero, The Heroine And The Author
It was during the nineteenth century with the rise and expansion of the movement known as Romanticism, when it began to raise the artists relationship with its environment. This reflection, of course, came from the creators. Poets, painters, musicians and artisans are no longer serving an elite caste (as was it was in the previous centuries) in exchange for a meager patronage. When they went apart from the dependency, the artists took on another role and aspire to become intermediaries between tangible realities and the unknown beyond of which they wish to be its translators. Artists claimed to be magician, demiurge, beings that acted as a guide border between the prosaic everyday life and beyond where the spirituality lies.
On this view, the bohemia, of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, was strengthened. Fantasy, dreamlike and surrealism were opening the way. Artists claimed their freedom and called themselves authentic Heros. That means that the creator is the one that opens doors to a different reality than the others simply don’t know, which also included that freedom, sometimes that detachment tied them to the margins of society. Even like that, the artist rise, with a self-imposed aura that stands in the center, not only of the creation, but becoming an official translator of the intricacies and mysteries of the world.
Well, with this concept (which may include various genres, trends and periods), the Ludwig Museum in Budapest, devoted to contemporary art, showcases an exhibition, which opens on the 6th of July the 21st of October, called “The Hero, The Heroine And The Author” And even though at the moment I am writing this text there are no many details about the size of the exhibition, you can be sure that the exhibition will be just great. Here is the link of the exhibition where you can find practical information and even purchase tickets via online: http://www.ludwigmuseum.hu/site.php?inc=kiallitas&kiallitasId=803&menuId=44
Budapest opens to modernity with a strong, cultural exhibition of scandal and envy, as a macro festival happen one after the other. If during spring the city is filled with concerts, exhibitions and street shows, during early summer, the capital of Hungary is shaken with film series, classic outdoor activities in its parks, sporting events and other good cultural activities the city has to offer. So Budapest is a favorite among seasoned travelers coming from anywhere in the world: not only because is nourished by a rich cultural legacy, but also because of the importance of theater, music and sport in contemporary society try to answer this demand. In this blog we frequently comment about it.
Candela Vizcaíno
Remember that the peak season for this part of Europe begins in early summer and extends well into the autumn, as the exhibition in question, so it is advisable to book Budapest apartments in advance because the high occupancy and that last minute rush is never good.
Marcell Nemes in Budapest
Until the 19th of February of 2012, the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts holds the exhibition El Greco to Rippl-Rónai, which gathers the collection of Marcell Jánoshalmi Nemes. With this exhibition they attempt to pay a tribute to the patronage of the Hungarian art collector who became a legend in the world of art in the beginning of the 20th century.
The exhibition was titled El Greco to Rippl-Rónai because it shows the broadness of the contained works in this important collection. For that theyve selected 120 objects, among which we can find works by great Italian and Dutch masters, works of Hungarian artists, china, medieval sculptures and other objects of decorative art from different times, catalogues and documents belonging to Nemes.
Marcell Jánoshalmi Nemes was born in Jánoshalma, Hungary, in 1866. His becoming of one of the most important patrons and collectors in Hungary and Europe was full of speculations. This meant that his figure become one of the most controversial ones of his time, which made him into a legend, because he opted to finance young Hungarian artists and artists from other nationalities, buying their works so they could carry on their perfectionist studies.
During his life he donated various works of his collection, such as the valuable work by El Greco Mary Magdalene in penitence and another by Ádám Mányoki, Ferenc Rákózi, which is considered a work of heritage in Hungary of huge value, a gem of Hungarian arts, to the Hungarian Museum of Fine Arts.
His generosity wasnt limited to his country. Numerous institutions such as the Munich Museum, the Berlin Museum, the Louvre Museum and the Prado Museum also received donations. Also, various Hungarian institutions, such as the Applied Arts Museum, received donations, and he contributed in a generous way to the foundation of the Kecskemét Photography Gallery, to whom he gave 80 works of his private collection on Hungarian painting in 1911.
Based on this singularity of Nemes, the exhibition is made up by works of his collection belonging to various national and international museums, as well as parts of his collection that are found today in the hands of private collectors. With this, they try to enhance the wealth of the collection and remember his visionary view on art and its preservation for future generations.
In the exhibition we can find works by important 19th and 20th century Hungarian artists, among them works by József Rippl-Rónai, Mihály Munkácsy, Pál Szinyei Merse, Károly Ferenczy, János Vaszary, Béla Ultz and Károly Kernstok among others.
József Rippl-Rónai was born in Kaposvár, Hungary, in 1861. Despite his pharmacy studies, he moved to the Art Academy in Munich to study painting and then moved to Paris to study the same subject with Munkácsy. Among his greatest painting theres My Grandmother and the portrait of the great Hungarian pianist Zdenka Ticharich.
For more information: http://www.szepmuveszeti.hu/web/guest/articleview?mi_layout_id=29.30&mi_article_id=964
Nancy Guzman
Its always pleasant to spend a few deserved relaxing days in Budapest, a city full of romance, art, history and a culinary offer of the highest quality. For these and thousands more reasons, rent apartments in Budapest now and enjoy the beginning of 2012 so you can start the year with positive energy.
Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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