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Exhibition Over
Until 27th January, 2008
Museum of Fine Arts, Hősök tere [map]
Pest, XIV, Hősök tere (M1), 1 min

If you haven't noticed that The Museum of Fine Arts is playing host to a Picasso, Klee and Kandinsky exhibition, you probably don't use the metro too much. Being listed first, the Picasso brand-name clearly has the most pulling power, although that's Klee's "Legend of the Nile" on the poster. What kind of split will the exhibition have, I wonder?

2200HUF seems quite pricey to me but 10% off with a little card from the tourist office is briefly enough to take the sting out of it. I then ponder the wisdom of buying a ticket at all when I find that there's no one on the door.

Inside the gallery, it's quickly clear that this particular sample of Hermann Rupf's collection isn't going to be a case of a couple of paintings and a few sketches. The exhibition is more-or-less chronological, split into two around 1930. This exposes what a tight-knit bunch the early cubists were: string instrument, newspaper, wine bottle, grapes... were Picasso, Braque and Gris all trapped in the same room? Perhaps things will change in the next gallery...hang on, what's this? "Guitar, Bottle and Fruit Dish" (1921).

Some quirky sculptures by Laurens liven it up a bit and Derain's landscapes are an oasis in a sea of still lifes. Picasso does finally come through with the squawking, light-hearted "Young Girl" (1929), which amuses me greatly.

The second half, for me, was far more exciting, thanks in no small part to Klee, who's a lot more varied than I gave him credit for. I'm not sure whether my memory beat my eyes to the notion that Klee has a certain penchant for swastikas - but it seemed that as soon as I thought it, I noticed them. This led to a little (more) confusion as to how to interpret the paintings. In fact, he'd been using them well in advance of Hitler, so it appears that continuing the trend throughout the thirties was an act of defiance, from the seemingly safe distance of Paris.

Kandinsky is also well-represented, with a series of colourful balancing acts and miniature universes from the 20s through to the 40s. It's the Kandinsky I know and love and seeing them in the flesh, makes me realise how few colours there are in the digital world. I'm also happy to see that Kandinsky did occasionally depart from this style, with the juxtaposition of Quiet Tension (1935), a personal highlight. In contrast, Picassos seem a bit thin on the ground, the bulk of his stuff being in the first half. Only now do I feel that some cobbling together is going on: neighbouring paintings have an identical theme and there's a distinct missing room where the freaky portraits should be.

So, if Picasso is supposed to be the main act, he's somewhat upstaged by Klee and Kandinsky. Nevertheless, if you're not too partisan or bothered about seeing the famous ones, there's a lot of quality on show.

The Museum of Fine Arts is the huge neo-classical building on the left side of Hősök tere, as you approach from Andrássy út.

Andy Sz.