Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Roman eras of Egyptian civilization. The highlights of the first room are four huge painted
coffins and a child-sized one from Gamhud in Middle Egypt;
shabti
figures, intended to per-
form menial tasks in the afterlife; and mummified crocodiles and other creatures from the
Late Period, when animal cults reached their apogee. In the second room, look out for the
sculpted heads of a priestess of Hathor and a bewigged youth from the New Kingdom, the
painted coffin of a priestess of Amun, and a tautly poised bronze of the cat goddess Bastet.
Across the basement lobby, the section entitled
Artaround1900
starts with
Symbolist
and
Decadent
works such as Franz von Stuck's
The Kiss of the Sphinx
, Arnold Böcklin's
Spring
Evening
, and Hans Makart's
Nessus Carries off Deianeira
. The remainder musters a few
works by the Hungarian
Art Nouveau
masters József Rippl-Rónai and Károly Ferenczy, an
Utrillo street scene, some Bonnards and two famous images by
Oscar Kokoschka
:
Veron-
ica's Veil
and the poster
Der Sturm
.
Ground floor
The rooms to the right of the entrance lobby are devoted to
ancientMediterraneancultures
from Etruria to Athens, mainly represented by jugs and vases. Highlights include a pair of
bronze shin-guards decorated with rams' heads, terracotta tiles portraying bestial deities, a
man'storsoandheadfromthepedimentofaCampaniantemple,lifelikebustsofRomanwor-
thies, and an early fifth-century BC Etruscan grave marker with reliefs of funerary games.
Acrosstheground-floorlobbyisanexcellent
bookshop
,leadingtoawingusedfor
tempor-
aryexhibitions
(requiring a separate ticket). Before heading upstairs, visit the grand
Renais-
sance Hall
, used for hanging large allegorical or religious works on loan from other mu-
seums; the
Baroque Hall
(often used for televised events), and the
Prints and Drawings
Room
at the far end on the right, mounting temporary displays (free) drawn from the mu-
seum's holdings of works by Raphael, Leonardo, Rembrandt, Rubens, Dürer, Picasso and
Chagall.
The first floor: the Spanish Collection
The museum's forte is its hoard of
Old Masters
, based on the collection of Count Miklós
Esterházy, which he sold to the state in 1871. The room numbering can make navigation here
confusing: the main rooms have Roman numerals and smaller ones down the sides have Ar-
abic digits.
The
Spanish Collection
of seventy works is arguably the best in the world outside Spain.
Located off to the right at the top of the stairs, it kicks off with vivid altarpieces by unknown
Catalans, such as the
Bishop-Saint Enthroned
(whose bewilderment belies his magnificent
attire) inroomII.RoomV,beyond,hasseven
ElGrecos
-including
TheDisrobingofChrist
,
TheAgonyintheGarden
,
TheApostle StAndrew
and
ThePenitent Magdalene
-andasuperb
Adoration of the Magi
by Eugenio Cajes.
