Születésének 140. évfordulója tiszteletére átfogó retrospektív kiállítással ünneplik Veszprémben Egry Józsefet, a „balatoni festőként” emlegetett neves magyar alkotót.
Egry József, a renowned Hungarian artist known as the „Painter of Lake Balaton,” is being celebrated with a comprehensive retrospective exhibition in Veszprém, in honor of the 140th anniversary of his birth.
The exhibition is being held at the newly renovated Laczkó Dezső Museum in Veszprém, which is also the European Capital of Culture.
This exhibition offers a rare opportunity for the public to view Egry József’s artworks as a whole, as they are usually dispersed among various museums and collections. In addition to the works held by museums and public institutions, privately owned pieces are also on display. The exhibition titled „Egry József 140 – Balaton, Sicily, Nervi” showcases 140 artworks, including the artist’s major pieces such as „Fishermen of Lake Balaton,” „Misty Lights of the Mirage,” „Saint John the Baptist,” and „Echo.” The exhibition will run until October 29th.
As part of the European Capital of Culture project, the Laczkó Dezső Museum building has been renovated at a cost of 1.7 billion Hungarian forints. The museum’s original state from the 1920s has been restored. In 1916, during World War I, Egry József was treated at a military hospital in Badacsony, where he met his future wife, Júlia Pauler. After the war, he lived and worked in Keszthely and Badacsony, spending most of his time in Budapest.
Egry József’s pre-war thickly textured oil paintings gradually evolved into lighter, almost ethereal works with a focus on atmospheric lighting effects. The subjects of his art often revolved around water, Lake Balaton, the surrounding landscape, and the people living and working there. Lake Balaton also became a sacred theme in the artist’s work. In 1929, Egry and his wife spent nearly six months in Sicily, and then again in March 1938, they traveled to Italy for a few months. These foreign trips also influenced the concept of the exhibition.
The paintings depicting Lake Balaton, created during Egry’s settlement in Badacsony around 1919-1920, are juxtaposed with the artworks portraying the sea from his travels in Italy.