This book showcases over 200 works from the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, one of Europe's finest but lesserknown art collections. Exceptional Italian pieces include a fourteenth-century panel painting by Maso di Banco, the only bronze sculpture associated with Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael's Esterházy Madonna, while the Northern European schools are represented by Lucas Cranach, Rubens and Rembrandt, and the French by Poussin, Claude and Laurent de la Hyre. Highlights from the museum's superb collection of works on paper include two studies by Leonardo for his fresco of the Battle of Anghiari, fine drawings by Dürer and Altdorfer, and figure studies by Tiepolo and Watteau. Twentieth-century masterpieces include works by Monet, Chagall, Picasso and Schiele. With texts by eminent scholars exploring the history of the museum and entries on each work, many of which present new research, this book is an important document of an outstanding collection.

Leonardo, Raphael, Cranach, Rubens, Rembrandt, Poussin, Durer, Monet, Chagall, Picasso, and Schiele--these and other great European artists are represented in this superb book, which showcases one of Europe's finest but lesser-known art collections, that of the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest. The museum was formed in the 19th century by the Hungarian government, with the aim of creating a public collection through the acquisition of private collections. The most significant of these, the Esterhazy collection, included important Old Master paintings and fine Old Master drawings. Building on the Esterhazy works, the museum has continued to acquire European art dating from the 14th to the 20th centuries. Over 200 works from the collection are reproduced here alongside a selection of works from the Hungarian National Gallery. Texts by eminent scholars explore the history of the museum and include entries on each work.