Exhibition to commemorate the Hungarian Revolution of 1956

The Hungarian National Museum is hosting an exhibition entitled The Secret Art of the Revolution to commemorate the 60^th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, origo.hu reports. The exhibition opens on June 23.

According to László Csorba, director of the Hungarian National Museum, the exhibition presents a special discussion of the revolution with the help of artworks and historical objects simultaneously. Many of the artists, who experienced the enthusiasm of the Revolution, the events on the streets, even often the presence of death, began drawing or painting immediately, he said.

The display comprising of over 300 artworks was primarily collected by art historian György Sümegi. The museum purchased the collection from him a few years ago with the purpose of hosting an exhibition on the anniversary of the revolution.

The Hungarian National Museum is completing the collection with artworks from other museums, as well as installations of historical objects. For instance, a T-34 tank will stand in front of the museum as a reminder that during the revolution Soviet tanks invaded even the Museum Garden.

Not only Hungarian artists reacted to the events of the revolution. On Wednesday, the museum received a Marc Chagall lithograph called Mother and Child, which will also be on display at the exhibition. The artwork was made in 1956, and it uses universally understood symbolism to communicate the horrors of the revolution: a pigeon is protecting a mother and her child from a burning city. The artwork is on loan from the Musée National Marc Chagall in Nice. The lithograph has never been exhibited in Hungary before.

According to muzej.hu, the exhibition will be open – along with the museum’s other displays and special programmes – to everyone who participates in the Night of the Museums, on June 25.

Photos: MTI

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Source: origo.hu