The Hungarian National Gallery, the country’s largest public collection documenting the rise and evolution of Hungarian fine art, kicks off 2026 with a packed January program. Expect permanent and temporary exhibitions; guided tours in Hungarian and foreign languages; themed workshops; family days; festivals; concerts; plus creative clubs, art education sessions, and summer camps for kids. The headline story this month: a deep dive into the life and work of Lajos Tihanyi on the 140th anniversary of his birth, with exhibitions, curator tours, lectures, and hands-on sessions throughout the month.
For the tiniest art lovers
January 13 and 27 bring Tipegők – Hópihe tánc (Toddlers – Snowflake Dance), a gentle winter adventure for the smallest visitors. It’s all about bundling up in imaginary mittens and snow boots, spotting how forests turn white, and discovering the colors hidden in snowy landscapes. Expect singing, storytelling, and dancing with snowflakes—sensory-friendly and designed to let little ones get the wiggles out inside the gallery walls. Location: Budapest.
Kid detectives on the case
The recurring Színezd újra! – múzeumi műhely gyerekeknek (Recolor It! – museum workshop for kids) on January 14, 21, and 28 turns children into sleuths. The gallery’s halls are wrapped in mysterious narratives, and the mission is to uncover the secrets of Lajos Tihanyi. Kids examine dozens of his works to spot hidden details, then piece together the clues to crack the puzzle. Creation is part of the chase: they “forge” paintings, craft a composite sketch, and experiment with photo manipulation. Budapest.
Parent-and-baby quiet time
Mama, nézd! – A csend beszél (Mom, Look! – Silence Speaks) on January 15 and 29 anchors a reflective parent-and-infant session around Tihanyi’s life. Deaf and mute from childhood illness, he turned a perceived disadvantage into a radical strength, shaping a visual language that made his art unmistakably his own. Budapest.
Tihanyi at 140: the big picture
The centerpiece is the exhibition Lázadó formák, merész színek – Tihanyi Lajos művészete (Rebellious Forms, Bold Colors – The Art of Lajos Tihanyi), marking 140 years since his birth. Running across multiple dates—January 17, 18, 23, 25, 29, and 31—it brings together his most important paintings, works on paper, and personal objects. Having lost his hearing in childhood, Tihanyi created color and form from silence and found a unique voice in painting without academic training. He became a defining figure of The Eight (Nyolcak) and one of the most original painters of 20th-century Hungarian art. Several sessions include guided tours, and the January 25 tour is accessible with sign language interpretation. Budapest.
Curators, historians, and a writer weigh in
On January 15, the event TIHANYI 140 features a guided tour by curator Mariann Gergely, tracing how Tihanyi’s works were known mostly through black-and-white reproductions until the 1970s, and how his estate took a dramatic path from Paris to the Hungarian National Gallery 55 years ago. January 16 offers Az ember a paletta mögött (The Person Behind the Palette), an unconventional walkthrough by art historian Gergely Barki inside the Tihanyi 140 exhibition. On January 24, Barki returns with a lecture: Kettő vagy egy sem. Duplázások és hiátusok Tihanyi Lajos életművében (Double or Nothing: Doublings and Hiatuses in Lajos Tihanyi’s Oeuvre), investigating repetitions, gaps, and the mysteries between. Writer and art historian Rita Halász leads Betonba hímezve (Embroidered in Concrete), a subjective tour, on January 17. Budapest.
Guided tours for every taste
The gallery opens its doors to Italian speakers on January 16 with Visita guidata in italiano, a guided sweep through the major masterpieces of Hungarian art from the Middle Ages to today, spotlighting the 19th and 20th centuries—and maybe even a playful Dante cameo among the canvases. On January 22, an online guided tour of the Tihanyi exhibition invites you to explore from home, marking the Day of Hungarian Culture. Budapest and online.
Abstracts to make and love
Alkoss! – Absztrakt élményfestés (Create! – Abstract Experience Painting) on January 17 starts with a gallery walk through major abstractionists and ends with you painting your own. The session highlights Sean Scully, Judit Reigl, and Simon Hantai—artists who stretched abstraction from geometric rigor to freewheeling brushwork—and encourages you to channel their energy into a dramatic canvas. Budapest.
Nudes, styles, and the many faces of art
Aktszobrok a századfordulóról (Nude Sculptures from the Turn of the Century) on January 18 is a guided tour exploring one of art’s oldest subjects: the nude human body. The approach to the nude shifts with the ideals of each era, and the revamped 19th–20th-century display shows how. On January 21, Szellemi fitnesz – Új év, új stílus (Mental Fitness – New Year, New Style) spotlights artists who reinvented themselves—János Vaszary, József Rippl-Rónai, Aurél Bernáth—and how a painting from another period can feel like another hand. After the gallery tour, the workshop channels one of Rippl-Rónai’s styles into a fresh creation. Budapest.
Family-friendly faces
Kaland a Galériában – Különös arcok (Adventure in the Gallery – Curious Faces) on January 24 splits by age: a 10:30–11:15 tour for 6–9-year-olds and an 11:30–12:15 tour for 10–13-year-olds. Both sessions explore unusual expressions, characters, and portraits across the collections, encouraging observation, empathy, and a bit of fun detective work in front of the art. Budapest.
In short, the month is a full-court press on Tihanyi’s legacy, wrapped with family workshops; specialist tours; Italian-language and online options; abstraction sessions; and a timely look at nudes and shifting artistic styles. If you’re in Budapest this January, the National Gallery has a tour, talk, or hands-on session with your name on it.
