Kárpáti Zoltán - Liptay Éva - Varga Ágota szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 101. (Budapest, 2004)
ANNUAL REPORT 2004 - A 2004. ÉV - TEMPORARY EXEIIBITIONS - IDŐSZAKI KIÁLLÍTÁSOK - KRISZTINA PASSUTH: Monet and Friends
58. Interior view of the exhibition Monet and Friends was indisputably the most successful exhibition of the past year: so successful, that it shattered the conception fixed in everyone, according to which: "a proper Hungarian does not go to exhibitions, and if so, it is out of the question that she or he would stand in line" (fig. 57). Here, with rare exceptions, everyone stood in line, even the professionals, and they knew why. And if they finally could enter, they saw that it was worth the wait: they could truly view the works of Monet, Sisley, Renoir and others - including numerous masterpieces - in such a way, that the compositions enhanced and reinforced each other, together with the paintings, drawings and sculptures of the local collection. What was ultimately realised was not a fragmentary or secondary show, but an exhibition that was comprehensive and rich in masterworks, and which rendered an account of the Impressionist approach, with its shifts and individual flavours, and the French milieu (fig. 58). But no matter how great an experience was provided by these few halls that took possession of the Parisian chef-d' oeuvres for three and a half months, what truly endured is, in fact, the catalogue, which can confidently be compared to Impressionime: Les origins 1859-1969, the similarly impressive volume accompanying the large-scale exhibition organised in the Grand Palais ten years ago, or with the catalogue of the Cézanne exhibition likewise arranged in the Grand Palais one year later, in 1995. With both Cézanne and the I Iungarian "Monet and Friends", it is the personality of the painters, and their original aspect and style that emerge by way of the contemporary writings, criticism and documentation. Naturally, for us, it is the discovery and publication of the Hungarian press coverage that is exciting Árpád Tímár researched and compiled that of the 1863-94
