In the autumn of 2018, the villa opened its doors with the permanent exhibition Art Nouveau – a Hungarian Perspective, displaying the finest selection of the Museum of Applied Arts’ Art Nouveau collection, making it available for the public during the years of reconstruction of the main building in Üllői út. At the same time, it also pays tribute to the memory of the first director of the Museum, György Ráth.
Completed with paintings and some interesting artworks from his collection, the approximately 600 exhibits represent all genres of the applied arts. Some of the freshly restored items have never before been exhibited because of their state of repair.
Three decisive schools of Art Nouveau, the British, the Austrian and the French are presented in interiors. The Art Nouveau dining room and sitting room allow the visitors a glimpse into Hungarian homes of the turn of the century. In the display cases Zsolnay ceramics, glass works by Tiffany and Gallé, and jewellery by Lalique can be admired. Bugatti’s exclusive pieces of furniture reveal the influence of Oriental art whereas the inspiring role of the Transylvanian roots and of the national past can be seen in the Hungarian art of the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
The Art Nouveau interiors of the Ráth Villa in Városligeti fasor provide an authentic environment for the exhibition. The former picture gallery and the reconstruction of the historic style dining room remind us of the excellent bourgeois art collector, the first director of the Museum of Applied Arts, György Ráth (1828–1905), born 190 years ago.
The works of two contemporary glass artists, inspired by Art Nouveau, guarantee that in accordance with Ráth’s mentality the past and present are equally represented in the villa.
The Art Nouveau – a Hungarian Perspective exhibition is on display at the Ráth Villa in Városligeti fasor.
