Budapest's Cultural Riches Include Art of Photography

According to Péter Korniss, the best-known Hungarian photographer in the world, Budapest’s vibrant cultural life includes photography, which is well represented through exhibitions, photo publications and professional gatherings. 

“The capital is rich in prestigious institutions that represent photography at a high level, such as the Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center, the Mai Mano House (also known as the Hungarian House of Photography), as well as the Kunsthalle and Museum of Fine Arts, and the Hungarian National Gallery, which also houses photography exhibitions,” explains Korniss, who donated a carefully-compiled collection of more than 60,000 photographs spanning his entire oeuvre to the Museum of Fine Arts in 2017. This invaluable and rich collection formed the basis of the establishment of the Peter Korniss Archive at the Central European Research Institute for the History of Art, a member institution of the Museum of Fine Arts.

A picture of Péter Korniss with her Transylvanian character at the exhibition in the Hungarian National Gallery in 2017 (photo: Edit Korniss)

Contemporary photography continues to flourish via prestigious competitions such as the Robert Capa Photography Grand Prize, the József Pécsi Photography Grant, the Hungarian Press Photo Competition, the Károly Hemző Prize and the Budapest Photography Grant. The popularity of the medium, Korniss contends, translates into a great deal of interest in photography exhibitions; Mai Mano and the Capa Center are popular destinations for foreign visitors. “The interest is also due to the fact that Hungarian photography was popularised by a generation that includes such iconic names as André Kertész, László Moholy-Nagy, Robert Capa and Márton Munkácsi,” explains the Kossuth-prize winning photographer, who has also been awarded the Kriterion Wreath. 

In the 1970s, Hungary was the first Eastern European country to invite and exhibit the World Press Photo exhibition, and Hungary has delegated a jury member to the competition almost every year since. “Through the growing prestige of photography, museums and galleries began embracing the art form, and photography became an artifact, as well as part of the contemporary art trade,” says Korniss, who is represented by the Várfok Gallery. 

Péter Korniss: On Zsuzsa's wedding day, 2022, 73 x110 cm, giclée print. Exhibited: Péter KORNISS: ON A LONG ROAD - Szék 1967-2022, Várfok Gallery, 03.09.-13.05. 2023 (source: Várfok Gallery)

Not only has Péter Korniss had solo exhibitions in 16 countries, in the past five years the Museum of Fine Arts in Bucharest, the Old Town Hall Gallery in Prague, the Rosphoto Museum in St Petersburg, the Museo di Roma in Trastevere, the Liszt Institute and the Keller Gallery in Paris have all displayed his work, while in Hungary, the Várfok Gallery hosted an exhibition by him entitled Long Road — Chair 1967-2022 in March 2023. “The exhibition tells the story of a Transylvanian village, and how traditional peasant culture there slowly gave way to the present in over half a century of pictures,” explains the photographer. A book of the same title was also published in conjunction with the exhibition, but included a much richer collection of images, which the artist considers one of his most exciting volumes; it’s also available for purchase at the exhibition. 

Korniss, who has also been awarded the “For Budapest” prize, is a fan of the city. He offers: “I would definitely show foreign visitors the wonderful panorama of the Danube bank, as well as the unique world of the charming ruin pubs of the city.”

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Photo: Péter Korniss at Museo di Roma in Trastevere, 2019 (photo: Krisztina Kovács)