The Hungarian National Gallery, home to the country’s largest public collection tracing the rise and evolution of Hungarian fine art, is rolling out a busy February in Budapest. Expect permanent and temporary exhibitions, guided tours in multiple languages, themed programs, family days, festivals, and concerts. Kids get creative clubs, art education sessions, and summer camps, too.
Feb 3–6: Lajos Tihanyi takes the spotlight
February kicks off online on February 3 with a virtual tour of the Tihanyi exhibition, a deep dive into Lajos Tihanyi’s painting from home. The next day, February 4, the “Recolor it!” museum workshop for kids asks how people once lived and what pictures reveal about the past—portraits, snapshots of daily life, and old photos inspire drawing, painting, comic-making, and storytelling.
On February 5, art manager Nóra Winkler and art historian Tünde Topor co-host “Lajos Tihanyi, the Restless Charmer,” guiding visitors through the painter’s world. That same day, the family program “Look, Mom! – The Beauty of the Body” explores the human body and the nude as a timeless theme, with a tour of the refreshed Nude Sculptures from the Turn of the Century.
February 6 brings “Budapest–Berlin–Paris. Lajos Tihanyi’s Road to Abstraction,” a tour led by writer and art historian Rita Halász. Tihanyi, born 140 years ago and a defining figure of the The Eight (Nyolcak) group, moved from figurative compositions to the pure language of color and form, shaped by café culture at the turn of the century, the Berlin avant-garde, and Parisian modernism.
Feb 7–8: From Adolf Fényes to architecture and French tours
On February 7, a guided tour explores The Images of Silence. Adolf Fényes (1867–1945) memorial exhibition and related works in the permanent collection. Also on the 7th, “Create! – Naked Reality” traces the body through art from the 19th century to today; after the gallery walk, your own body parts become both subject and tool as you make body prints. Rounding out the day: “Rebellious Forms, Bold Colors – The Art of Lajos Tihanyi,” a major anniversary show featuring his key paintings, graphics, and personal objects. Deaf from childhood, Tihanyi crafted a vivid visual language without academic training, becoming one of the most original figures among The Eight (Nyolcak) and in 20th-century Hungarian art.
February 8 offers a French-language tour—Budapest–Berlin–Paris. L’art de Lajos Tihanyi—then another chance to see the Tihanyi exhibition with a guided walk. Also on the 8th: “From Crypt to Dome,” an architectural tour of the former Royal Palace, revealing the Habsburg Palatine Crypt, the panorama from the dome, and other hidden corners while introducing the Gallery’s history and collection.
Feb 10–12: Online, toddlers, and more Tihanyi
On February 10, take an online guided tour of the Adolf Fényes exhibition from home. That day, “Toddlers – Venice Carnival” whisks little ones to Italy’s city of masks for carousel rides, dancing, role play, and mask-making. February 11 repeats the “Recolor it!” kids’ workshop and a guided tour of the Tihanyi show.
February 12 returns to “Look, Mom! – The Beauty of the Body,” focusing on how nudes mirror the ideals of their time, with a tour of the refreshed turn-of-the-century nude sculpture display. That day also features another guided tour of “Rebellious Forms, Bold Colors – The Art of Lajos Tihanyi.”
Feb 13–15: English, Italian, and curators in the lead
On February 13, an English-language tour—Rebellious Forms, Bold Colors – The Art of Lajos Tihanyi—opens the doors for international visitors. There’s also an Italian-language highlights tour spanning medieval to contemporary, with special emphasis on the 19th and 20th centuries—and a playful hint that Dante may appear among the canvases.
Valentine’s Day, February 14, brings love stories to the fore. A Hungarian-language tour, The Most Beautiful Hungarian Paintings of Love, traces artists and muses—blissful, passionate, turbulent, and tragic—through works by Pál Szinyei Merse, János Vaszary, and Róbert Berény. Also on the 14th, “Music-guided Tour with Ádám Bősze and Gábor Bellák” sets Tihanyi’s Budapest–Berlin–Paris era to a 20th-century beat, while “Love Is in the Air” in English meets muses, lovers, and artists’ wives across painting and sculpture. Later, art historian Gergely Barki delivers a bonus talk: Two or None. Doublings and Hiatuses in the Oeuvre of Lajos Tihanyi.
February 15 offers “The Art of Adolf Fényes – Curatorial Tour with Ágnes Horváth,” guiding visitors through the memorial show with curatorial insight.
Feb 18–22: Kids’ colors, body ideals, and carnival adventures
On February 18, it’s another round of “Recolor it!” for children. February 19’s English program, “Look, Mom! – The Beauty of the Human Body,” reexamines the nude as a mirror of ideals, visiting the renewed turn-of-the-century sculpture hall.
February 21 turns into a carnival at the Gallery with “Adventure in the Gallery – Carnival Transformation”: 10:30–11:15 for ages 6–9 and 11:30–12:15 for ages 10–13. Also that day, another guided tour of The Images of Silence. Adolf Fényes (1867–1945) and related permanent works.
On February 22, “Nude Sculptures from the Turn of the Century” returns with a guided tour, showing how the nude—one of art’s oldest themes—shifts with each era’s ideals across painting and sculpture.
Feb 24–25: Preschoolers and a mental workout
February 24 invites preschoolers to “Kindergarteners in the Gallery – So Colorful!” How did painters work? What do paintings and sculptures reveal? After gallery games, kids make art in the workshop, discovering surprises around every corner.
On February 25, “Mental Fitness – Sculpture Brought to Life” asks whether a sculpture can come alive—and whether one can fall in love with a perfectly crafted work. February’s session mixes nude sculpture, love, and mythology into one engaging blend, closing out a lively month at the Hungarian National Gallery in Budapest.
