For an Independent Hungarian National Gallery Dec 17. 2011 | Comments (34)

Protest Against the Merger of the Hungarian National Gallery and the Museum of Fine Arts

On 29 February 2012 the Hungarian National Gallery will cease to exist as an independent institution. Unless those responsible can be persuaded to think again, something unprecedented is due to happen: without any plausible or scientifically acceptable explanation, the decision has been taken to eliminate the independence of one of Hungary’s leading museums, an internationally acknowledged institution of 55 years’ standing. Moreover this decision is to be implemented within four months, without consultation, and with extraordinary and unseemly haste. As a consequence of merging its collection with the Museum of Fine Arts, which is about the same size and encompasses an international field of interest, the Hungarian National Gallery will lose its institutional and intellectual autonomy. The potential damage to Hungarian heritage  is incalculable, since the National Gallery is the main state institution entrusted with the collection and preservation of Hungarian works of art. The reasons given to justify the supposedly urgent merger give rise to fears that in the future there will be no way to present Hungarian art in all its richness and complexity from the earliest times to the present day. This would be an enormous loss for visitors interested in Hungarian art. The unwelcome transfer of the more than 130,000 works of art connected with the ill-conceived merger will be an incalculable burden to the central budget and will expose these invaluable treasures of Hungarian cultural heritage to grave risks.
It is still  not too late to raise your voice against this extraordinarily damaging proposal.

Budapest, December 2011

CSc Enikő Buzási
Art Historian, Senior Scientific Fellow (retired) of the Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest

Eszter Gábor
Art Historian, Senior Scientific Fellow (retired) of the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest

dr. Katalin Sinkó
Art Historian, Senior Scientific Fellow (retired) of the Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest

The first signatories of the protest:

Prof. Ernő Marosi, Art Historian, Full Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
DSc Géza Pálffy, Historian
DSc Pál Ács, Literary Historian
Miklós Mojzer, Art Historian, retired Director General of the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest
Márta Kovalovszky, Art Historian
Péter Kovács, Art Historian
dr. Zsuzsa Lovag, Art Historian, retired Director General of the Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest
Prof. András Kovács, Art Historian, Kolozsvár/Cluj (Ro), External Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Árpád Szabados, Artist, University Professor
DSc Róbert Hermann, Historian
DSc Katalin Péter, Historian
DSc Pál Lővei, Art Historian
Prof. Gábor Gyáni, Historian, Corresponding Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
DSc József Sisa, Art Historian
dr. Ágnes Ritoók-Szalay, Literary Historian
Prof. Em. Ágnes R. Várkonyi, Historian, Corresponding Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
dr. habil. Áron Petneki, Historian
PhD István Bibó, Art Historian
Prof. Géza Galavics, Art Historian, Corresponding Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
CSc László Beke, Art Historian

Further reading:
Statement by the AICA Hungary
"Hungarian National Gallery director resigns in protest": article in The Art Newspaper
"Information on the Proposed Dissolution of the Hungarian National Gallery as an Independent Institution": article by Ilona Sármány-Parsons in The Art Tribune

Click here to sign the petition

  1. # Victoria H.F. Scott on 18 December 2011 at 15:05:

    The Hungarian National Gallery will should remain an independent institution.

  2. # Martin Mádl, PhD, Art Historian on 19 December 2011 at 9:23:

    It is easy to destroy a tradition, it is hard to build something valuable!

  3. # Vladimír Urbánek, PhDr, PhD, Intellectual Historian on 19 December 2011 at 10:18:

    It is always so unbearably easy for politicians to destroy real values and that is why the solidarity of the shaken is so important.

  4. # Beket Bukovinská, PhDr on 19 December 2011 at 10:55:

    It is easy to destroy a tradition, it is hard to build something valuable!

  5. # Markéta Klosová, PhDr., philologian on 19 December 2011 at 11:03:

    We shall overcome...

  6. # Andrei Pop on 20 December 2011 at 11:58:

    It is important to preserve cultural identity in a rapidly opening world. As a Romanian, I see the loss of cultural heritage proceeding at an alarming pace all over Eastern Europe.

  7. # Frank Muller on 20 December 2011 at 12:11:

    Wieder ein schlimmes Symptom - und sicher nicht das letzte - des Zerstörungswillen des europäischen Geistes und der europäischen Erinnerungskultur durch Liberalen und Populisten.

  8. # Professor Fran Lloyd, kingston University, London on 20 December 2011 at 18:07:

    This National collection is invaluable and should continue to exist independently for future generations

  9. # Paul Widmer on 20 December 2011 at 18:08:

    Wir brauchen in Europa eine Stärkung nicht eine Schwächung ganz freier und unabhängiger Kultur und Geisteswissenschaft. Darin liegt das Wesen Europas, und wenn sie die Förderung der Freiheit von Kunst und Geisteswissenschaft verliert, dann ist Europa nur noch ein Anhängsel Asiens, dann biedern wir uns nur noch der geistigen Diktatur des asiatischen Ungeistes unter.

  10. # James H. Wade, ethnographer and art historian on 22 December 2011 at 0:26:

    The proposed merger would inevitably damage one of Central Europe's great cultural traditions, especially, but not only, its presentation. Such an act would be a national betrayal, by a government with strong nationalist pretensions.

  11. # Gérard Couvert on 3 January 2012 at 13:51:

    L'Art est l'essence de l'Homme, une civilisation sans art est promise à la violence et à l'échec. La conservation des œuvres est une absolue nécessité qui ne doit pas échapper à la responsabilité publique.
    Toute atteinte culturelle est une atteinte à la vie.

  12. # Anthony KOENIG on 4 January 2012 at 7:42:

    Un soutien depuis la France (Lorraine) où votre situation face à la culture est malheureusement parfois semblable...

  13. # Francine PIN on 4 January 2012 at 12:38:

    Nous connaissons en France des situations tout à fait semblables, sauvons la culture partout dans le monde

  14. # Aurelian STROE on 5 January 2012 at 8:47:

    First, the Hungarian National Bank. Now, the Hungarian National Gallery. Next? Probably, the all Hungariens!? It's unbelievable!

  15. # LAFAYSSE Véronique on 5 January 2012 at 15:39:

    Je suis sincérement navrée de voir à quel point la culture est une valeur déconsidérée dans nos sociétés. Quel gâchis pour ce merveilleux patrimoine ! Nous avons vu, en France, que les protestations assidues des professionnels et des amateurs portaient leurs fruits. Alors, n'hésitons pas, signons !

  16. # dutrech on 6 January 2012 at 18:03:

    Je suis solidaire de votre combat la culture nous aide à vivre nous devons nous battre

  17. # PESCHIUTTA Patrick on 8 January 2012 at 11:20:

    les décideurs devront s'appuyer sur le prestigieux passé hongrois pour intégrer les valeurs culturelles à leurs décisions floues et purement dictées par des considérations économiques... ils devront connaître les disciplines concernées, aussi

  18. # Denis Coekelberghs on 8 January 2012 at 19:19:

    Je suis d'autant plus sensible à votre situation que nous voyons à Bruxelles se développer une stratégie analogue visant à fusionner les Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts et les Musées royaux d'Art et d'Histoire, projet dénué de fondement sur le plan de l'Histoire de l'art et de la gestion de ces deux institutions.

  19. # Desprez Michael on 10 January 2012 at 10:55:

    Il est navrant de voir systematiquement des siecles de patrimoine et des multitudes de talents (specialistes, conservateurs, restaurateurs) faire l objet de diktats pour des raisons fumeusement economiques. La stupidite et la courte vue des "managers" de l art, depourvus le plus souvent de la patience, de l ouverture et de l ecoute qu exige toute oeuvre d art a toujours abouti a des resultats catastophiques. Ceci est d'autant plus regrettable dans le cas de la Hongrie, un pays au merveilleux patrimoine europeen, tant meurtri deja par les aleas de l histoire recente.

  20. # Carmen Popescu on 10 January 2012 at 21:34:

    art/ architectural historian

  21. # Ghiczy Claudine on 12 January 2012 at 9:22:

    Ces travaux de nivellement de l'art semblent annoncer une volonté d'enterrement dans un futur proche. Si "jusqu'où peut-on descendre" est la question... Souvenons-nous d'autres massacres...

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  24. # Marie-José Garniche on 13 February 2012 at 15:17:

    Solidaire du Directeur Csàk Ferenc et du personnel de la Galerie nationale. C'est un mouvement européen, voire planétaire, que de prendre la main sur les musées, de leur assigner une rentabilité, au mépris des identités artisitques culturelles fortes comme celle de la Galerie nationale (et c'est précisément ce que vient chercher le public).
    Il est important que nous soyons informés, dans les autres pays européens, de ce qui se passe chez vous, alors, merci à La Tribune de l'Art et à sa vigilance.

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