Over 50 of El Greco’s masterpieces on display in Budapest
The exhibition is on display at the Museum of Fine Arts from Friday.
El Greco’s oeuvre was almost forgotten after his death in 1614 and only rediscovered at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The Hungarian art collector Marcell Nemes, whose collection once included 12 El Greco paintings, played a part in this, László Baán, the director general of the Museum of Fine Arts, said at the opening.
Although the Budapest museum has the largest collection of El Greco paintings in Europe outside Spain, the Cretan-Spanish master’s oeuvre has never been the subject of a major exhibition in Hungary. The exhibit, which is opening after eight years of preparation, will survey El Greco’s entire oeuvre, featuring major works from each of his periods.
The exhibition’s curator, Leticia Ruiz Gómez, stressed that El Greco is one of the most original artists in European art, with a unique career.
According to Báan, the Museum of Fine Arts has never had a year as strong as this one. Even in the world’s biggest museums, it is rare to see four world-famous exhibitions in a single year — Cezanne, Bosch, Matisse and El Greco.
Next year should be a peak year as well, with a major Renoir exhibit planned for the autumn of 2023.
