On November 27, Budapest marks the 140th birthday of Lajos Tihanyi with a sweeping retrospective of a defiant modernist who forged a singular visual language out of silence. Nearly two hundred works—his most important paintings and graphics, plus personal estate objects—anchor a life’s work that helped shape Hungarian Expressionism and the avant‑garde. Tihanyi, who lost his hearing in childhood, built an unmistakable voice in paint: daring color harmonies, sculptural brushwork, and abstracted forms that refuse to sit still. Self‑taught and uncompromising, he became a core figure of the Nyolcak (The Eight) and one of the 20th century’s most original Hungarian painters.
Guided Tours: When, Where, How
The exhibition runs at 1014 Budapest, Szent György Square (Szent György tér) 2, with guided tours starting November 27, 16:00–17:00. Tours require both a temporary exhibition ticket and a program ticket at $15. Duration: 60 minutes. Capacity: 17 people. Meeting point: information desk.
Additional tour dates:
– 2025.12.06. 15:00–16:00
– 2025.12.11. 16:00–17:00
– 2025.12.21. 11:00–12:00
– 2025.12.27. 11:00–12:00
– 2025.12.30. 11:00–12:00
– 2026.01.09. 16:00–17:00
– 2026.01.11. 15:00–16:00
– 2026.01.17. 15:00–16:00
TIHANYI 140: Curator in the Gallery
On November 28, 16:00–17:00, curator Mariann Gergely leads a tour tracing how Tihanyi’s art—known in Hungary mostly via black‑and‑white reproductions until the 1970s—finally came home. His estate made a dramatic journey from Paris to the Hungarian National Gallery fifty‑five years ago, unlocking a vivid oeuvre long muted in reproduction.
Tihanyi’s life was shadowed by a personal catastrophe: meningitis at eleven left him deaf; his voice distorted, speech difficult, and he read lips. He skipped academies and built a style shaped by a radically individual way of seeing. As a young man in Nagybánya (Baia Mare), he moved among painters and writers, and by 1918 had a solo show with Kassák’s MA (Today) circle. In the winter of 1919, he emigrated and never returned, living in Vienna, Berlin, Paris, then New York, before circling back to Paris in the 1930s.
His portraits form the spine of his legacy: not only Hungarian luminaries—Lajos Kassák, Lajos Fülep, Endre Ady, Mihály Babits, Józsi Jenő Tersánszky, Dezső Kosztolányi, Pál Pátzay, György Bölöni—but also international heavyweights like Ivan Goll, Diego Rivera, Tristan Tzara, Marinetti, and Brassaï. Critics often likened his expressive intensity to Oskar Kokoschka. In his final years, he pushed into abstraction; in 1932 he joined the Abstraction‑Création group. Full‑price ticket: $74; discounted: $42. Capacity: 17. Meeting point: ground floor, exhibition entrance. Tickets available online and on‑site, first come, first served.
The Person Behind the Palette
On December 12, 16:00–17:00, art historian Gergely Barki offers an unconventional tour focused on character and canvas. Tihanyi was a social being despite hearing loss and speech difficulties—surrounded by friends and, naturally, enemies—yet he lived essentially alone. He never formed a lasting partnership; beyond his disability, his difficult temperament likely played a part. What never wavered: honesty and self‑consistency in every relationship. How did that reflect in the work? Did his personal ties shape the paintings? Barki promises answers—and probably more questions. Full‑price ticket: $74; discounted: $42. Capacity: 17.
Note: Image under the copyright protection of the Museum of Fine Arts.
