Housed in a grand neoclassical building on the northern side of Heroes’ Square, the Museum of Fine Arts is home to the city’s most outstanding collection of foreign and local works of art dating from antiquity to the 21st century. More than 100,000 masterpieces are on display by such important artists as Raphael, El Greco, Velázquez, Tiepolo and Goya.
From Cuneiform to Contemporary Art
Across four floors, the museum is filled with various artworks, divided into five main exhibitions: Ancient Egypt, Classical Antiques, European Art 1250–1800, European Sculpture 1350–1800 and Variations on the Baroque – Art in Hungary 1600–1800. The ambitious temporary exhibitions are also notable.
Architectural Grandeur
The ground floor’s three main halls are sights to behold themselves. The Romanesque Hall is reminiscent of a basilica adorned with colorful frescoes, monumental columns and an ornate gate. The Renaissance Hall with semi-circular arcades and classical columns is home to Italian frescoes and Venetian wellheads, while the Baroque Hall hosts selected works from the Old Master Paintings and the Old Sculpture Collection dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. The secret inner garden is home to fruit trees, flowers and plants, providing space for quiet reflection in between visiting sections of the museum.
The Largest Art Heist in Hungarian History
Don’t miss the famous Esterházy Madonna by Raphael, which was among the seven artworks stolen in "the greatest art theft in Hungary" in 1983, a Hungarian-Italian job. With the involvement of Interpol, the artworks were found in Greece after a two-month manhunt and returned home. Sadly, the Esterházy Madonna was broken in half.
