City of Lights. Artificial lighting and the craftsmanship of illumination

July 10, 2024 – September 29, 2024

Curated by: Álmos Molnár

Urban society became a society of artificial light during the 19th century. With evolving means of lighting, humans gradually and ever more effectively took control of the night. Artificial light expanded the use of space, boosted reading, facilitated more efficient transport, made working hours more flexible, decorated buildings, opened the way for the entertainment industry, and led to new ways of living – it transformed the rhythm of life.  

For a long time, artificial flames supported nightlife. Focusing on these flames, our exhibition seeks to answer the question: how did sleepy little towns at the beginning of the century become illuminated cities by the Millennium of the Hungarian State, and who or what provided the flames? The process of urban illumination began with the perfection of candles and the more powerful rapeseed oil lamps. From the second half of the century onwards, the introduction of gas lighting, supplied by plants and networks, impacted the use of both indoor and outdoor spaces. From the end of the 1850s, the development and production of lamps based on petroleum derivatives began, leading to an expanding range of lamps in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. This brought about the heyday of lamp production, resulting in artistic or decorative mass-manufactured products by the end of the century.

With the development of large cities through the proliferation of high-rise residential buildings, cultural, political, and educational institutions, restaurants, industrial estates and the urbanisation of public spaces, the 1890s saw the beginning of an era of technical alternatives, with the parallel use of Auer’s lamps, acetylene lamps, petroleum-fuelled and candle-equipped devices, which were in competition with electric light. In the 20th century, electric light, supplied by industrial plants, became a commonplace experience for the modern urban dweller, and gradually the flames disappeared, but they can be recalled through visual, written, and material sources. Our exhibition is predominantly based on artefacts from the Kiscell Museum, and aims to present the history of lighting in Budapest in the 19th century.