Csornay Boldizsár - Dobos Zsuzsa - Varga Ágota - Zakariás János szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 99. (Budapest, 2003)

THE YEAR 2003 - NEW ACQUISITIONS

THE YEAR 2003 In 2003 the Museum of Fine Arts focused, besides research and scholarly activities, on the organization of temporary exhibitions and on the extension and modernization of the exhibition premises. The Old Masters' Gallery opened new permanent exhibitions, which display a selection of paintings from the German and the eighteenth-century Italian collections. These exhibitions are located in the renovated rooms of the reconstructed wing of the building and in the Marble Hall. The exceptionally successful exhibition entitled "Monet and his Friends" was organized within the context of the French Cultural Season. Opened in December 2003 and extended over 2004, it became one of the most important events of the year in the Museum. The show presented works of art from the relevant collections of the Museum of Fine Arts and several foreign institutions, and attracted a record number of visitors in the history of the museum. In December, the Department of Classical Antiquities organized the first exhibition of the series "Work of Art of the Season", which featured a painted Coptic vase. At the permanent exhibition of the Department, the installation of the reliefs of the Battle of Actium was brought to completion. The Republic of Greece honoured Hungary, which was to join the European Union the following year, with a complete exhibition entitled "Greek Jewellery", held between 15 May and 30 June, 2003. Also the Eos series continued with the organization of study circles and class workshops, as well as summer camps. The Programme Office in charge of preparations for the exhibition dedicated to Sigismund of Luxemburg, to be held in 2006, has been operating since October 2003 under the direction of Imre Takács. NEW ACQUISITIONS In 2003, the Egyptian Collection increased most significantly, with 44 new works of art. The Department of Classical Antiquities followed close with their 38 new acquisitions. The most valuable of these are a painted Coptic vase, a clay statue of a youth from Phoenicia and the Graeco-Egyptian terracottas and some Egyptian coins bequeathed by László Kákosy. The Old Masters' Gallery acquired four works of art that were all entered in the main inventory: J. M. Rottmayr: Lamentation of Christ, G.B. Piazzetta: Assumption of the Virgin, Jacob de Backer: Allegory of Smell, German painter (around 1480): Christ on the Cross. The Collection of Prints and Drawings was enriched with one drawing, several prints, and a two-volume album of vedute containing 214 etchings. The most out-