Minister of Education and Culture István Hiller and museum director László Baán presented the Sinka family from Vács, north of Budapest, with a reproduction of Van Gogh's Leather Shoes and a one-week trip for two to Paris and Amsterdam for putting the museum over the 400,000-visitor-mark on Sunday.
Van Gogh in Budapest has become the most successful exhibition in Hungary since the fall of communism, beating Monet and Friends, which attracted 250,000 visitors, and the National Gallery's 2005 Munkácsy exhibition, which drew 360,000 visitors.
Hiller noted that the exhibition was made possible only by the close cooperation of the private sector and acknowledged a HUF 100 million contribution by ING.
Baán reminded visitors that the exhibition has been extended for another twelve days and will close on April 1, rather than March 20. The extension could mean the number of visitors to the exhibition reaches 450,000, he added.
Van Gogh in Budapest is open every weekday from 9:00 to 20:00 and on weekends from 9:00 to 21:00. With a special ticket, visitors can see the exhibition until 22:00 as part of the museum's Van Gogh+ programme.
At the exhibition's last weekend, the museum's doors will remain open 24 hours a day.
Van Gogh in Budapest features 43 paintings, 24 drawings and 10 graphics works. In addition, important works by painters who influenced Van Gogh, such as Rembrandt, Delacroix, Daubigny and Millet are shown. In another section of the exhibition, works by Hungarian artists influenced by Van Gogh are on display.
More than 40 museums, including Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum, the Musée D'Orsay in Paris and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York are lending works for the exhibition.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
