Sisi – Queen in Black and White
Móra Ferenc Museum (Szeged)
26 June – 31 December 2021
The Móra Ferenc Museum presents an exhibition about the life of Sisi, the “queen of the Hungarians”. The aim of the exhibition is to show the everyday life, the most important events, the characters and the circumstances of the death of Queen Elisabeth. The exhibition includes the original bodice in which she was murdered on the shores of Lake Geneva in 1898. The exhibition came to Szeged from the Hungarian National Museum.
Not only this original bodice can be seen in the exhibition, but also the associated belt. This piece of clothing is evidence of how important it was for Sisi to keep her fine figure throughout her life. The belt is proof that at the time of her death, at the age of 61, her waist circumference was about 50 cm. The two special objects arrived in Szeged at the beginning of June from the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest, together with the other pieces of the core material.
In addition to the two iconic clothes pieces, Sisi’s dressing gown, handkerchief and other related artefacts and clothing reconstructions are presented. Paintings and sculptures of her also owe to her memory, and visitors can get to know the everyday life through the related stories.
The exhibition is a joint show of the Móra Ferenc Museum and the Hungarian National Museum.
Curator: Csilla Kollár
CLARA
Klára Rotschild. Fashion Queen behind the Iron Curtain
25 June – 31 December 2021
Fekete ház, Szeged
An exhibition about the life and work of the legendary fashion designer Klára Rotschild in the Fekete ház gallery. In addition to the beautiful dress ensembles, the exhibit includes the gold bracelet she always wore and claimed to have received as a gift from King Farouk of Egypt. The exhibition came to Szeged from the Hungarian National Museum.
The Fashion Queen has moved to the Black House in Szeged. Those interested can see an exhibition about Klára Rotschild until 31 December 2021. The exhibition not only presents the iconic clothes she planned, but they can also get acquainted with the unusual life and career of Clara.
For many decades Klára Rotschild meant ‘the fashion’ in Hungary. Since the opening of her salon in 1934, she has dressed the wives of top state leaders and politicians, and she also had foreign buyers, such as the Persian shah or even the king of Egypt. Rotschild always wore a gold bracelet, which she claimed to have received as a gift from King Farouk himself – this beautiful piece of jewellery can also be seen in the exhibition.
The fashion queen remained standing even after the Iron Curtain came down: she continued her career as the artistic director of the state Specialty Women’s Clothing Salon. Even during the period of socialism, she remained the fashion designer of the political and public elite: she also designed clothes for János Kádár’s wife, for example. Such a very simple tailored costume is also presented at the exhibition. Also worth mentioning is Tito’s wife, Jovanka (Jackie Kennedy of the East), who was a fan of Rotschild’s clothes.
A total of 21 Rotschild costumes are on display in the exhibition. Visitors can also view archive footage of fashion shows and interviews – in an ORF (Austrian TV) report, for example, Klára Rotschild herself can be heard speaking.
The exhibition is open until the end of 2021 on the second floor of the Fekete ház gallery.
Exhibition by the Hungarian National Museum.
Curator: Dr. Ildikó Simonovics
Hungarian Conquest – The Way Munkácsy Painted It (Móra Ferenc Museum)
Temporary exhibition on the origins of Mihály Munkácsy’s Hungarian Conquest with original Munkácsy paintings in the ceremonial hall of the Móra Ferenc Museum.
The exhibition revolves around the history of Mihály Munkácsy’s gigantic painting, The Hungarian Conquest. In addition to interesting stories, two animated films show the origin of the painting and the scientific flaws (such as the depiction of weapons or costumes) that could have been avoided, if we look at them through the eyes of today’s archaeologists.
Thanks to a large-scale digital imprint, visitors can experience how monumental the final work, which is currently in the Parliament, has become, and they can compare the final version with the sketches.
The exhibition is open from 14 August 2020 to 31 December 2021.