Festival Honoring Legendary Painter Mihály Munkácsy Organized in Békéscsaba

MTI-Hungary Today 2024.09.18.

Munkácsy Festival will be held in Békéscsaba (southeastern Hungary) between September 26 and 29. The event is part of the Munkácsy 180 commemorative year and – now a tradition – of the collaboration between the cultural institutions of the Munkácsy district.

Deputy Mayor Tamás Varga (Hajrá Békéscsaba Egyesület) announced that the four-day festival is one of the final points of the development series of the Munkácsy Quarter. On Friday the Pál Réthy Bridge, rebuilt with HUF 150 million (EUR 380,337), will be inaugurated and the last outdoor statue of Mihály Munkácsy will be unveiled at the foot of the bridge. This will complete the infrastructural part of the district’s development. He recalled:

On Saint Michael’s Day, there were always programs organized, and this has now been expanded into a multi-day festival.

The Jókai Theater in Békéscsaba presented the musical Munkácsy, a festőfejedelem (“Munkácsy, the painting prince”) at the beginning of the year in honor of the Munkácsy 180 commemorative year, while Tibor Zalán’s three-act drama Idegenek és ismerősök (“Strangers and Acquaintances”), about author Mór Jókai and Munkácsy’s imaginary meeting in Paris, will be performed at the festival.

On Friday, the façade of the Mihály Munkácsy Museum will be projected with two light paintings, and on Saturday there will be a curatorial guided tour. On Friday, new Munkácsy ornaments will be presented in the institution; and on Saturday, the Munkácsy issue of the Bárka magazine will be launched.

There will be free guided tours of the Munkácsy Memorial House; on Saturday and Sunday there will be excerpts from the Munkácsy musical and an exhibition of the play entitled Mielőtt a függöny felgördül (“Before the Curtain Rises”).

There will also be a Munkácsy-themed quiz for high school students; a flashmob; a laser show; and on Saturday, a Wenckheim bike tour to a castle park. The Saint Michael’s Day lantern parade will also be held on Saturday.

Fact

Mihály Munkácsy (1844-1900) was an internationally renowned figure of 19th century Hungarian painting. He began his career as a carpenter apprentice and fought his way up the ranks of professional painters. His canvases mainly depict Hungarian and European rural and middle class life with ‘sociographic accuracy.’ His romantic-realist style was greatly influenced by French painter Gustav Courbet (1819-1877). Munkácsy’s main work is the Christ Trilogy of three panneaus, showing Christ in front of Pontius Pilate, on Golgotha hill, and in front of the people of Judea (Ecce Homo).

Mihály Munkácsy 180: A Year-long Celebration in Békéscsaba

Over the past decade, the city has honored the painter with a series of large-scale events.Continue reading

Via MTI; Featured image via Wikipedia/Hans Temple

Festival Honoring Legendary Painter Mihály Munkácsy Organized in Békéscsaba

On Saint Michael’s Day, there were always programs organized, and this has now been expanded into a multi-day festival.

There will be free guided tours of the Munkácsy Memorial House; on Saturday and Sunday there will be excerpts from the Munkácsy musical and an exhibition of the play entitled Mielőtt a függöny felgördül (“Before the Curtain Rises”).

Fact