Photographer Captures Visually Satisfying Symmetry of Budapest’s Ornate Theaters

artistic architectural photography

Opera

Shot entirely in Budapest, Zsolt Hlinka‘s Auditorium is a photographic series that captures the symmetrical splendor of indoor architecture. Once again relying on symmetrical compositions, the photographer focuses on empty theaters for this new work.

Seeing these spaces, built for large crowds, devoid of people allows the eye to appreciate the lines of each elegant interior. These ornate theaters are a hallmark of Hungarian culture, built to entertain and inspire awe. Hlinka's images enhance their majesty, laying bare for the viewer their cavernous halls.

“A defining characteristic of my pictures is how they take the recipient to a reversed world: they no longer show the theater from the viewer’s perspective, but from the point of view of the performer, looking out from the stage,” the artist shares. “However, instead of an audience, they reveal the grandiose symmetry of the spaces. In this changed role, time slows down, and it becomes a single timeless moment, where the auditoriums break down to waves, colors, and moods.”

Viewing the images side by side, Hlinka's artistic architectural photography is also a history lesson into the changing face of Hungarian architecture. From the clean, modern lines of the Nemzeti, or National, Theater, to the glittering interior of the Neo-Renaissance State Opera House, the stylistic variety does not change the incredible symmetry of each theater.

artistic architectural photography

Thália

artistic architectural photography

Nemzeti

artistic architectural photography

Madách

artistic architectural photography

Új színház

Zsolt Hlinka: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Behance
h/t: [this isn't happiness]

All images via Zsolt Hlinka.

Jessica Stewart

Jessica Stewart is a Staff Editor and Digital Media Specialist for My Modern Met, as well as a curator and art historian. Since 2020, she is also one of the co-hosts of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. She earned her MA in Renaissance Studies from University College London and now lives in Rome, Italy. She cultivated expertise in street art which led to the purchase of her photographic archive by the Treccani Italian Encyclopedia in 2014. When she’s not spending time with her three dogs, she also manages the studio of a successful street artist. In 2013, she authored the book "Street Art Stories Roma" and most recently contributed to "Crossroads: A Glimpse Into the Life of Alice Pasquini." You can follow her adventures online at @romephotoblog.
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