The Hungarian National Gallery, the country’s largest public collection dedicated to documenting and showcasing the rise of Hungarian fine arts, rolls into 2025–2026 with a packed calendar. Visitors can expect permanent and temporary exhibitions, guided tours in multiple languages, themed programs, family days, festivals, and concerts. Kids have their own slate too, from creative workshops and art education sessions to summer camps. It all happens in Budapest, inside the former Royal Palace—an art-and-architecture combo that’s hard to beat.
Rebel Forms, Daring Colors — Tihanyi Lajos at 140
December closes with a major retrospective: Rebel Forms, Daring Colors — The Art of Lajos Tihanyi, marking the 140th anniversary of the artist’s birth. Running on December 27, 28, 29, and 30, 2025, then returning on January 9, 11, and 17, 2026, the show brings together Tihanyi’s key paintings, graphics, and personal objects. Having lost his hearing in childhood, Tihanyi found a voice through color and form, crafting a striking visual language without academic training. He became a defining member of the Nyolcak (The Eight) and one of the most original figures in 20th‑century Hungarian painting. Several dates include guided tours that dive deeper into his techniques, subjects, and the evolution of his style.
From Crypt to Dome — Explore the Palace
On January 3, 2026, the gallery offers a Building Walk — From the Crypt to the Dome. It’s a behind‑the‑scenes look at the former royal palace: the Habsburg Palatinal Crypt, the panoramic dome, and other remarkable architectural corners. Along the way, visitors pick up the story of the museum’s collection and the palace’s own winding history.
Kids’ Sleuths, Tiny Dancers, and Hands‑On Art
January is busy for families. The Recolor It! museum workshop for kids (January 7, 14, and 21) turns the gallery into a detective’s playground. Young investigators chase the secrets of Lajos Tihanyi, scrutinizing dozens of works for hidden clues and piecing together a mystery through close looking. Creativity stays front and center: kids “forge” paintings as part of the detective work, create a phantom portrait, and experiment with photo manipulation.
On January 13, Tots — Snowflake Dance invites the smallest visitors to bundle up for a winter‑themed adventure through art. They’ll spot how the forest turns white, discover the colors hiding in snowy landscapes, and join in songs, stories, and dances with swirling snowflakes.
Sunny Days and Quiet Rooms
On January 8, Look at that, Mom! — Sunny Days takes parents and children into the Pictures of Tranquillity exhibition, paired with works by Adolf Fényes (1867–1945) and pieces from the permanent collection. And on January 15, the Hungarian‑language companion program Mom, look! — The Silence Speaks looks at how Tihanyi’s childhood deafness shaped his life and made his art unmistakably personal, turning a perceived limitation into an artistic advantage.
Adolf Fényes: Intimate Light
January 10 spotlights Adolf Fényes, one of the most sensitive Hungarian painters at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries. His canvases glow with sunlight even in the humblest interiors; market scenes feel storybook‑alive. As visitors wander through landscapes and cozy rooms, the tour explores how a rural courtyard lives under the spell of French Impressionism, what links a veranda in Szolnok to Paris, and what more‑than‑century‑old genre scenes reveal about everyday joys and sorrows.
Guided Tours in Italian and Curator Insights
January 9 offers a visita guidata in italiano, a guided path through Hungary’s most celebrated masterpieces from the Middle Ages to today, with a special focus on the 19th and 20th centuries—and maybe even a Dante sighting among the canvases. The same day, a guided tour of the Tihanyi exhibition invites visitors to discover more about his painting.
Mid‑month brings deep dives: on January 15, TIHANYI 140 — curator Mariann Gergely leads a tour tracing how, until the 1970s, Tihanyi was known mostly through black‑and‑white reproductions in Hungary, and how his estate made its adventurous journey from Paris to the National Gallery collection 55 years ago. On January 16, art historian Gergely Barki presents The Person Behind the Palette, an offbeat guided walk through the Tihanyi 140 show.
Abstract Adventures and Modern Bodies
On January 17, Create! — Abstract Experience Painting opens up the possibilities of abstraction. After a gallery tour featuring heavyweights like Sean Scully, Judit Reigl, and Simon Hantaï—artists who reshaped abstract art—participants paint their own striking abstract canvases, from geometric rhythms to free, sweeping brushwork.
January 18 turns to Turn‑of‑the‑Century Nude Sculptures (Aktszobrok a századfordulóról), a guided visit to the revamped exhibition of nude sculptures from the fin de siècle. The nude is one of art’s oldest subjects, but its depiction shifts with each era’s ideals. The tour explores those ideals through sculptural form and context.
Art Fitness for the New Year
Rounding out the month on January 21, Mental Fitness — New Year, New Style examines how artists reinvent themselves. Some, like János Vaszary, József Rippl‑Rónai, and Aurél Bernáth, worked across multiple styles—sometimes so different you wouldn’t believe they came from the same hand. The session challenges visitors to track those transformations and rethink what counts as an artist’s signature look.
All events take place in Budapest at the Hungarian National Gallery, with most programs supported by guided tours and tailored experiences for every age.
