Zsolnay Porcelain Exhibition in Budapest Enriched with Unique Masterpieces

The expanded Zsolnay exhibition at the ResoArt Villa in Budapest has opened its doors to visitors with over sixty works added to the collection. In addition, the façade of the Art Nouveau building, that now houses 550 objects, has been renovated.

Krisztina Csalló, vice-president of the ResoArt Foundation, recalled at the press conference presenting the exhibition that András Szabó and the ResoArt Foundation, which he founded, made his private collection available to the public in the autumn of 2023 and made it part of the cultural offerings of the Liget Budapest Project.

The vice-president pointed out that the exhibition can only be visited on guided tours, which have been very popular and always sold out in the past almost one and a half years.

The program also gives visitors the opportunity to discover the Art Nouveau villa and the largest collection of Zsolnay mosaics in the country.

She pointed out that the main façade of the villa, designed by architect Albert Kálmán Kőrössy, had been repaired from natural erosion. Moreover, with the addition of more than sixty important Zsolnay objects to the collection, visitors will gain an even better understanding of the impact of Vilmos Zsolnay and the Zsolnay manufactory on the period.

Ceramics decorated with an owl motif from the unique, expanded Zsolnay collection. Photo: MTI/Lakatos Péter

The backbone of the Zsolnay collection in the villa is made up of works of art made at the Zsolnay factory during the period of historicism from the mid-1870s to the turn of the century, but also significantly expanded Art Nouveau collection.

Krisztina Csalló said that on the occasion of the opening of the new exhibition, an album titled “The Collector’s House – Wandering through the ResoArt Collection” was published, which, in addition to presenting the art collection, explores the psychology of collecting art.

The ResoArt Villa was designed in 1899 by the architect Albert Kálmán Kőrössy.

The building blends the Hungarian Art Nouveau style with the prevailing international stylistic features of the period.

Its stained glass windows are decorated with peacocks, lion heads and plant vines, while the gable features allegorical figures of painting, sculpture and architecture. Inside the building, a huge glass window designed by Miksa Róth, one of the most famous Hungarian Art Nouveau glass artists, can be seen.