Szászbogács Summer University Course Organized for the Fourth Time

Owl on the southern choir stalls at
Szászbogács, 1533

In August 2024, the Szászbogács Summer University Course for Monument Protection was organized by Asio Association and the Pro Professione Foundation for the fourth time. Held at the Transylvania Saxon fortified church of Szászbogács / Băgaciu / Bogeschdorf, the summer course focused on the architectural and artistic heritage of the Szekler Lands. The idea of the summer university comes from Transylvanian restorer Ferenc Mihály, a prominent representative of heritage protection in Transylvania. In the autumn of 2017, he suggested that the unused Saxon fortified church of Szászbogács would be suitable for launching a regular summer university course organized in cooperation with Hungarian and Romanian university departments providing complex training in areas related to heritage conservation. Based on this idea, the summer courses are jointly organized by the art history departments of four universities (Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Károli Gáspár University, and Babeș-Bolyai University), together with the Conservation Department of the Hungarian University of Fine Arts and the Department of the History of Architecture and Monument Protection of BME (Budapest University of Technology). The summer course aims to bring together students from these departments to mutually gain insight into the methodologies of the different disciplines. Several presentations are held on methods and the students can also practice architectural survey and documentation, various techniques of conservation surveys and documentation methods, and so on. In addition, each year's course has a thematic focus, which provides the topic of lectures and a two-day study tour in the area. Each year, distinguished guest speakers are invited to give insight into new research and even the methods of related fields, such as archaeology. This year, the lectures and the study tour concentrated on medieval and early modern art in the territories of the Szeklers (Székelyföld). 

The Saxon fortified church of Szászbogács / Băgaciu / Bogeschdorf

In addition to providing instruction to the students, the staff and students of the summer course study significant medieval buildings in the region. This activity focuses on the medieval churches of the Transylvanian Saxons - which now often stand without the communities that once used them. In many cases, barely any documentation is available on these buildings, some of which are in a rather derelict condition due to neglect. Documentation activity was carried out in the church of Szászbogács as well, and in 2024, the abandoned medieval church of Szásznagyvesszős (Veseuș, Michelsdorf) was surveyed. The Lutheran fortified church of Szászbogács has perfectly preserved its medieval characteristics in detail, too: the single-nave longitudinal nave and the polygonal choir are covered with rib vaults, completed with a remarkably sized western tower. Its furniture makes an elaborated reconstruction of medieval use possible: the sedilia and other niches of the chancel, the intact medieval altar mensa, and the baptismal font represent a vast array of minor-architectural furnishing of the liturgical space. This is complemented by a composition of wall paintings from several periods, a winged altar of exceptional quality, two late-Gothic choir stalls, and the original hardware of the sacristy door and gate. This extremely multi-layered historic ensemble makes the church of Szászbogács particularly suitable for studying and applying various methods of art history.

Students discussing about the main altar of Szászbogács

The goals of the summer university and the activities of the first year (2019) were summarized in an article in issue 3-4/2019 of the journal Műemlékvédelem (available online, but with a subscription). In the same journal, the preliminary results of the investigation of the medieval murals of Szászbogács were also published (in a brief study by István Bóna and myself). In 2022, the thematic focus was on late medieval altarpieces and wall paintings in Transylvania, you can find a Hungarian-language overview of the year's activities here. In 2023, we focused on Árpád-period architecture. In addition to the summer course, several small conferences were organized in Budapest, where the students could present their research or observations. Several studies have already appeared or are in preparation based on research started at the summer courses. In the future, the organizers hope to continue not only these annual events, but wish to establish a more permanent competence center for the study, preservation, and restoration of historic monuments in Transylvania.

The Lutheran church of Szásznagyvesszős / Veseuș / Michelsdorf

Visit to the medieval church of Oklánd / Ocland, to study the newly restored frescoes

The author of this blog (Zsombor Jékely, left) helping Mihály Jánó during his presentation
on the wall paintings of the Legend of Saint Ladislas

Art in Medieval Hungary - Now on Smarthistory!

Being busy has kept me from updating this blog for some time, however, I was busy getting information out about the art of medieval Hungary to other platforms. I would like to call your attention to two of my essays published on the Smarthistory website: one on the statue of St. George, and the other on the Bakócz-chapel in Esztergom. The essays were written as part of a project aimed at creating content related to Eastern Europe to the site. Edited and partly written by Dr. Alice Isabella Sullivan, these new essays present case studies of objects and monuments from the areas to the north of the Danube River (15th-17th centuries). You can already find several of them online! Let's hope that the project can continue with even more content on this superb educational platform.

The first essay is dedicated to the bronze statue of Saint George in Prague Castle. Regarded as one of the most significant bronze statues of the late Middle Ages, it features Saint George and the dragon. The lively and dynamic composition is about three-quarters life-size (almost 2 meters high). The horse rides toward the left on a rocky terrain inhabited by snakes and lizards but rears up and turns his head back toward the dragon. Saint George holds his spear in his right hand and thrusts it diagonally in front of the horse, hitting the dragon's throat. In his left hand, he once held a shield with a cross and an inscription that dated the work to 1373 and named its makers: Martin and Georg of Kolozsvár. You can find more information in my essay.

The second essay is about the Bakócz-chapel, located in the cathedral of Esztergom. Although it is not in its original form today, this chapel was the earliest centrally-planned Renaissance building north of the Alps. Commissioned by Cardinal Tamás Bakócz (archbishop of Esztergom from 1497 to 1521), the chapel is a unique survival from the medieval cathedral of Esztergom and a groundbreaking Renaissance structure finished just a few years before the collapse of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. You can continue reading about the chapel here.

In memoriam Ernő Marosi (1940–2021)

Ernő Marosi in 2017

Ernő Marosi (1940–2021), professor emeritus at the Institute of Art History of ELTE and a full member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, died on July 9, 2021, at the age of 81. With his death, we lost one of the most important Hungarian art historians of our time. His impact as a researcher and author of groundbreaking books as well as a teacher for almost six decades is immeasurable.

A simple listing of his professional positions does not do justice to his career. He started teaching at the Department of Art History at ELTE in 1963, immediately after graduating. In addition, he was a researcher at the Art History Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, serving as the director of the Institute between 1991 and 2000.  He had been a full member of the Hungarian Academy of Science since 2001 and from 2002 to 2008, he was the Vice President of the Academy. He also taught at the Central European University and was an active board member of CIHA. Research fellowships took him to places such as Washington D.C., where he was a Senior Visiting Fellow at CASVA in 1991, and Berlin. Among the prizes he received was the prestigious Széchenyi Prize (1997) and the Commander's Cross with Star of the Hungarian Order of Merit (2009). He continued teaching even after his retirement and remained active as a researcher until his death. 

His contribution to the field of medieval art history is better measured by his groundbreaking publications, which cover all areas of Hungarian medieval art. His research fundamentally re-wrote our knowledge of the field, placing Hungarian monuments in their broader, European context. During his career, there were several topics which he often revisited, providing new insights and interpretations to the most important monuments of medieval Hungary. His publications cover very diverse subjects ranging in time from the Coronation Mantle donated to the Székesfehérvár provostry by King Saint Stephen in 1031 to the patronage of Matthias Corvinus. Among his most important publications, we should first mention his book on the beginnings of Gothic architecture in Hungary, published in 1984 (Die Anfänge der Gotik in Ungarn. Esztergom in der Kunst des 12–13. Jahrhunderts. Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó, 1984). A catalogue on stone carvings from the Árpádian-period and an illustrated overview of Hungarian art of the Árpádian-period (1997, co-authored with Tünde Wehli) also attest to his interest in architecture and stone carving of the 12th-13th centuries. The other focus of his research was the art of the 14th and early 15th centuries, primarily the period of King Sigismund. His dissertation focused on the Church of St. Elisabeth at Kassa (Košice), which was then published as a series of studies. Starting from 1974, he provided the proper art historical context for the famous statue find of Buda castle, a key monument of Central European sculpture of the International Gothic period. He co-organized two exhibitions on this period: first, in 1982 on art at the time of King Louis the Great (1342-1382) and in 1987, on the period of King Sigismund (1387-1437). Parallel to this work, Ernő Marosi edited and co-wrote the monumental handbook on Art in Hungary, 1300-1470 (published in 1987). In a series of later studies and in his academic doctoral dissertation, he almost immediately started to deconstruct the picture of the period given in the handbook, reflecting on new finds and providing new approaches (see especially: Image and Likeness: Art and Reality in the 14th and 15th Centuries in Hungary. Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó, 1995). In 2006, he was one of the key advisors and authors of the new exhibition dedicated to the period of King Sigismund (Sigismundus Rex et Imperator, Budapest-Luxemburg, 2006). 

Ernő Marosi examining the inner reliquary of St. Ladislas, 2004

Another focus of his research was historiography, especially the 19th-century beginnings of Hungarian art history. He edited a number of source collections on art historical writing as well as a volume on Hungary and the Vienna School of art history (Die ungarische Kunstgeschichte und die Wiener Schule 1846–1930, Vienna, 1983). He also wrote a basic overview of the methods of art history aimed at students (1973). He also dealt extensively with issues of monument protection and museum history - often writing on contemporary issues in these fields as well. Naturally, he was a keen observer of contemporary art as well.

As a university professor, he also provided some of the basic surveys and textbooks on medieval art in Hungarian. In 1972, he wrote a survey book on Romanesque art, which was later expanded into a textbook on the art of the Middle Ages, 1000–1250 (published in 1996). This was soon followed by a second, much larger volume on the art of the Middle Ages, 1250–1500, published in 1997. He also wrote overviews of Hungarian Romanesque Art (2013) and Gothic Art (2008). His collection of primary sources on medieval art translated into Hungarian (first published in 1969 and then in an expanded edition in 1997) is a much-used source collectionto this day.

During his long career, he published hundreds of studies in various journals, conference volumes, and exhibition catalogues. Coinciding with his 80th birthday, a three-volume collection of his selected studies on medieval art was published, coordinated by the Thesaurus mediaevalis research group led by Imre Takács (“Fénylik a mű nemesen”. Válogatott írások a középkori művészet történetéből. Budapest, Martin Opitz Kiadó, 2020). The book makes available many of his studies published internationally, in the form of newly made and annotated Hungarian translations prepared by Marosi himself. The ninety studies in two volumes are accompanied by a third volume containing 1359 illustrations. A bibliography of his publications is also included there: it fills almost forty pages of the book. His colleagues and students paid tribute to his work in a Festschrift published for his seventieth birthday (Bonum ut pulchrum. Essays in Art History in Honor of Ernő Marosi on his Seventieth Birthday. Eds. Lívia Varga - László Beke - Anna Jávor - Pál Lővei - Imre Takács. Budapest, Argumentum, 2010) and he was also celebrated with a conference organized by the Institute of Art History of ELTE, titled Disputatio de quodlibet. In 2010 and 2020, Enigma, a journal of art theory, published two thematic issues dedicated to Ernő Marosi (Enigma vols. 61 and 100).

Ernő Marosi in 2005

Like generations of art historians studying in Budapest, I took some of my first art history classes with Ernő Marosi, who taught European medieval art. He was my supervisor when I was an MA student in medieval studies at Central European University (1994–1995) and encouraged my doctoral studies, suggesting I work on the newly discovered fresco cycle at the Augustinian Church at Siklós. Later, he would also serve as an external reader of my dissertation, which was supervised by Walter Cahn at Yale University. I had a chance to work with Ernő Marosi on numerous occasions after I returned to Hungary – especially during the preparations for the international exhibition on King Sigismund (2006). He participated in the international conference organized in Luxemburg (2005) in conjunction with the exhibition and also provided the art historical commentary for a digital edition of the Viennese manuscript of Eberhard Windecke's chronicle on Emperor Sigismund (Eberhard Windecke emlékirata Zsigmond királyról és koráról = Eberhard Windeckes Denkwürdigkeiten zur Geschichte des Zeitalters Kaiser Sigmunds. Budapest, Arcanum, 2009). More recently, Marosi published numerous studies on late medieval wall painting – including an introductory essay to a volume on wall paintings in north-eastern Hungary, co-authored by me (2009) and edited by Tibor Kollár. In June of this year, he graciously agreed to present our new book on medieval wall paintings in Zólyom County (Zsombor Jékely – Gergely Kovács: Falfestészeti emlékek a középkori Zólyom vármegye területén. Ed. Tibor Kollár. Budapest, 2021), although his illness prevented him from fulfilling the task. He was an inspiration and mentor to me for 30 years and he will surely inspire future generations of art historians, even those who never had a chance to meet him. He will be greatly missed.

A final, personal note: Thirty-one years ago, as a first-year art history student, I had an opportunity to travel to France. Ernő Marosi's lectures on medieval art were a fresh experience - the notes of his lectures served as my guide on my trip. I visited everything from Romanesque pilgrimage churches in the south of France to the great Gothic cathedrals of northern France and the late Gothic and Renaissance castles of the Loire Valley. After my first year of college and this French tour, I decided definitively that I would like to pursue medieval art. In 2021, news of the death of my teacher, Ernő Marosi, reached me inside the Benedictine abbey church of St. Denis, the birthplace of Gothic.

Ernő Marosi and Zsombor Jékely listening to József Lángi, 2019

* (Most of the links above take you to full-text versions of some publications written or edited by Ernő Marosi. Photos by Attila Mudrák and the author).

In memoriam Zsuzsa Urbach (1933-2020)

Zsuzsa Urbach at the Piliscsaba campus, 2003 
(Photo by János Jernyei Kiss)

It is with great sadness that I report the passing of art historian Zsuzsa (Susan) Urbach, Hungary's foremost scholar of Early Netherlandish Painting. She was 87 years old. She studied art history and archaeology at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest - even though it was hard for her to get accepted to University in the early 1950s for political reasons. Finishing her studies also took some time, as, after the 1956 revolution, she spent two years abroad (studying in Munich and in London). Eventually, she returned to Hungary and finished her studies in 1959, receiving a doctorate in 1963. She started working at the Collection of Old Master Paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts in 1966. She worked at the Museum until her retirement in 1992. Although she continued to study the Old Masters, in 1994 she started a new venture: she established the second Department of the History of Art in Hungary, at the newly founded Faculty of Humanities at Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Piliscsaba. She was instrumental in creating a very successful art history program, hiring a number of young colleagues who teach there to this day. 

The primary field of research for Zsuzsa Urbach was Gothic paintings. She published groundbreaking studies on medieval iconography - on subjects ranging from the Visitation (focusing on the painting of Master M.S.) to the Nativity and the Doubt of St. Joseph to portrait iconography. She was among the first ones to draw attention to copies of Early Netherlandish Painting - publishing important early copies of Hieronymus Bosch and Jan van Eyck in Budapest, among others. She was also a champion for the use of phototechnical examinations for medieval paintings in Hungary. At the Museum of Fine Arts, her attention focused on Early Netherlandish Painting, and she published a series of important studies both in Hungary and abroad on the topic. She also wrote several smaller monographs on the holdings of Hungarian museums. Her research culminated in the monumental catalogue of Early Netherlandish Paintings in the Museum of Fine Arts, which was published in two volumes by Brepols in 2014.

By the time I got to know her, she was one of the grande dames of Hungarian art history. She was usually at the library of the Museum of Fine Arts, always eager to talk to younger researchers. I remember these conversations fondly. In preparation for the 2006 exhibition on King and Emperor Sigismund, her connections made possible the restoration of the copy of the Way to Calvary after Jan van Eyck in Brussels. This panel is a highly interesting item in Old Master Paintings collection in Budapest and its restoration was done at KIK/IRPA in Brussels. Volume 44 of Acta Historiae Artium was dedicated to her in 2003 and another Festschrift, titled Als Ich Can, was published by her colleagues and students for her 80est birthday in 2013. It is well-known that her students at Pázmány Péter University greatly admired her. For the reminiscences of her career, Hungarian-speaking readers are encouraged to read the interview with her, published in MúzeumCafé in 2014.

After Jan van Eyck: Way to Calvary. Budapest, Museum of Fine Arts
for high resolution, see here

Susan Urbach, Early Netherlandish Painting in Budapest I & II. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2014.
ISBN: 978-1-909400-09-2
ISBN: 978-1-909400-29-0


For a fuller bibliography of the works of Susan Urbach, click here.

In memoriam Paul Crossley (1945-2019)

Paul Crossley, Emeritus Professor of the History of Art at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London has passed away on December 11th, 2019. Dr. Crossley was an eminent scholar of Gothic architecture - perhaps best known for the second and much expanded edition of Paul Frankl's Gothic Architecture in the Pelican History of Art series (Yale, 2000). He has made a significant addition to the study of medieval art, primarily through his research on Central European Gothic architecture. He completed his PhD on medieval architecture in Poland, and his book on fourteenth-century Polish Gothic Architecture in the Reign of Kasimir the Great was published in 1985. In addition, he also published extensively on Gothic architecture in Prague at the time of Charles IV.

Paul Crossley did not publish much about medieval Hungary but was very knowledgeable about it as well. I had a chance to meet him on several occasions, the most memorable of which was when he opened the 2006 exhibition dedicated to Emperor Sigismund, organized by the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest. The text of his opening speech was published in The Hungarian Quarterly (No. 182, 2006), and can be downloaded from this link - the issue also includes an overview of the exhibition by Ernő Marosi. The speech was also published in Hungarian in Élet és Irodalom (2006. April 7), and I am making it available below. Let me quote a characteristic passage from the original English text of Dr. Crossley:

In my experience, Hungary had always been the eminence gris of later medieval European art—a country of exquisite, but mysterious culture. When I was a student in Cracow, many years ago, my Polish Professor, when asked about a particularly exquisite late medieval or early Renaissance object in Poland, would reply, with hushed wonder: “Ah, that is Hungarian”. But how, or why, or when it was Hungarian always remained a mystery. Now, thanks to this spectacular exhibition Sigismundus. Rex et Imperator, Hungary’s vital contribution to the international “court culture” of later medieval and early Renaissance Christendom has been magnificently recognized.

Paul will always be remembered as a kind, enthusiastic and funny colleague, and a great champion of Central Europen Gothic art. He will be greatly missed.

Hungarian translation of the opening speech of the Sigismundus - Rex et Imperator exhibition, 2006

Exhibition on Medieval Towns in Magdeburg

The new exhibition of the Cultural History Museum is titled 'Faszination Stadt  - The Allure of Cities,' and is dedicated to the network of medieval towns following Magdeburg law. The topic is broadly framed, starting with city development in antiquity - but then it focuses on the development and spread of Magdeburg town law in the Middle Ages. The Magdeburg law originated in the twelfth century and spread in the course of the German east settlement across Central Europe, particularly to the areas of Poland, Bohemia and the Kingdom of Hungary. It is a characteristic feature of urbanization in this regiou and its peculiarity is that it divided the local power between the council and a jury appointed by the ruler. This made it easier for territorial rulers such as the Teutonic Order in the Baltic States and the kings of Poland and Hungary to control the cities they established and granted freedoms to. The legal framework was provided by the Sachsenspiegel, codified in 1230, which was a summary of existing legal knowledge. Starting from the story of Magdeburg law, the exhibition presents the legal framework, the day to day operations and daily life in medieval towns of Central Europe.

Stove tile from Besztercebánya, c. 1500, Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest

The 250 objects on view are varied, ranging from luxurious gift items to objects of daily life. Given the subject, it is not surprising that a large number of loans from Hungary and the neighboring countries are featured in the exhibition.  The exhibition is accompanied by an 800-page catalog and by a volume of studies dedicated to the topic. It remains on view until February 2, 2020. You can find more information on the special website set up for the exhibition or in the flyer provided by the museum.

View of the exhibition, with the tombstone of a painter from Buda
(Budapest History Museum)

The results presented in the exhibition rely on a research project coordinated by the Museum. A website was also set up to provide information about Magdeburg law - it is a very useful resource, providing, among others, a map of European towns using Magdeburg law.

Copy of the Sachsenspiegel, Heidelberg University Library

(Photos by Kulturhistorisches Museum Magdeburg)

Late 15th century Passion panel from Thorn/Torun

Spectacular Cycle of Medieval Frescoes uncovered at Visk

At a press conference on October 30th, 2019, the Teleki László Foundation presented the early 15th-century fresco cycle uncovered in the Calvinist church at Visk (Vyshkovo, Ukraine). The wall paintings - which had been found in 2001 and partially revealed in 2012 - were uncovered with the support of the Rómer Flóris Plan. This is a Hungarian government program launched in 2015 and aimed at protecting elements of Hungarian cultural heritage across the borders. The wall paintings of Visk were presented to the press by Prof. Ernő Marosi, restorer József Lángi, and myself (Zsombor Jékely). 

Visk is located in the Zakarpattia Oblast region of Ukraine - and area which was part of the Kingdom of Hungary until 1918. The medieval church at Visk was built in the first third of the 14th century and is a simple Gothic edifice with a rectangular nave and a polygonal sanctuary. The town itself was one of the five royal settlements in Máramaros county, an area known for its salt mines. Nothing remains today of the medieval castle once guarding the settlement. Since the mid-16th-century, the population of Visk had converted to Calvinism, which led to the reconfiguration of the medieval church as well. In 1717, the town was burned down during the last raid of the Crimean Tatars into Hungary. When the church was rebuilt, the medieval frescoes were no longer visible - they were eventually covered by rich ornamental paintings executed in 1789.

Press conference with Ernő Marosi, József Lángi and Zsombor Jékely (photo: Magyar Kurír)

The medieval wall paintings of the church were preserved in the sanctuary. Their existence had been known for some time, and their presence under later layers of plaster was established in 2001. Several details had been uncovered by restorer József Lángi in 2012, which led to a plan for their complete recovery. Once the community of the church was also convinced of the importance of these frescoes, work could commence with the help of the Rómer Flóris Plan. In September - October 2019, the entire surface of the sanctuary wall has been cleaned and wall paintings have been uncovered on the northern and southern wall of the sanctuary, as well as around the eastern windows.

Passion cycle on the northern wall of the sanctuary

The ensemble recovered by József Lángi is fragmentary: a large Late Gothic window opened in the southern wall destroyed a large portion of the wall paintings. The vaults collapsed (most likely in 1717) and were replaced by a flat ceiling - thus a very important part of the former ensemble is missing. A 19th-century gallery installed in the sanctuary for an organ caused further damage. Despite all this, a remarkably complete cycle of wall paintings has come to light. The northern and southern wall of the sanctuary was decorated with a detailed Christological cycle, narrating the story of Christ from the Annunciation through the Passion all the way to the death and Coronation of the Virgin Mary. 

Massacre of the Innocents

The cycle was arranged in four registers in a wrap-around pattern (so running left to right on the northern wall, continuing on the southern wall, then jumping back to the northern wall and so on). Many of the scene survive fairly intact, including monumental compositions of the Massacre of the Innocents and the Entry into Jerusalem, as well as several episodes from the Passion of Christ. Although there is a lot of damage to the cycle, and the fire of 1717 changed the coloring of the paintings, the power of the storytelling is still clear to see today. Dramatic and expressive scenes - such as the Arrest of Christ or the scene of Christ being nailed to the cross - add to the richness of the narrative. On the eastern walls, in the spaces between the windows, a gallery of saints was painted in several rows. Most of them appear to be female martyr saints: Catherine, Barbara, and Margaret can be identified today.

The surface of the wall paintings still needs to be cleaned and they need to be restored - a task which can hopefully be completed during the next two years. In the meantime, we can already establish that the fresco cycle was painted during the second part of the reign of King Sigismund (1387-1437) - most likely in the 1420s. No other works are known by the same workshop in the Upper Tisza Valley, so the discovery of these frescoes is a significant addition to our knowledge about medieval painting in north-eastern Hungary. Art historical research on the fresco cycle will commence in the near future, and hopefully, initial results will be published soon.

   

You can read more about the press conference (in Hungarian) in this overview by Magyar Kurír. To learn more about the medieval churches of the region, have a look at the website of the Route of Medieval Churches. Photos in the post are by Attila Mudrák.

Two discoveries of medieval painting

Cimabue, Christ Mocked, c. 1280

This post has nothing to do with the art of medieval Hungary, but the information presented below is so fascinating that I decided to create a small post about it. New started circulating this week about the discovery of some spectacular medieval paintings, which had been hitherto unknown. The most famous discovery concerns a small panel attributed by Cimabue, which was found hanging in the kitchen of French woman. The painting will be auctioned by Acteon in Senlis on October 27, with an estimate of 4 to 6 million Euros.

The small panel depicts the Christ being Mocked and was identified as part of a dismembered small altarpiece. Its reconstruction shows a diptych, with four small panels on each wing. So far, two other paintings of the left wing have been known: the Virgin and Child Enthroned with Two Angels at the National Gallery, London and the Flagellation of Christ at the Frick Collection. The two panels have been exhibited together at the Frick Collection in 2006. The newly identified painting dates from around 1280, along with the dismembered former altarpiece.

The Cimabue panels in  London and New York

Also discovered in France, the second painting originates from Central Europe. It is a small panel of the Virgin and Child, attributed to one of the most famous - but anonymous - masters of medieval Czech painting, the Master of Vyšší Brod. Active in the middle of the 14th century, the master received his name from the altarpiece now preserved in the National Gallery in Prague. The background of the small panel has been repainted but could be cleaned and restored by a potential buyer (see the image in the article in La Tribune l'Art). The painting will be offered for sale by Cortot & Associés in Dijon, on November 30, with an estimate of 400.000 to 600.000 Euros.

For more information, see for example La Gazette Drouot.

Master of Vyšší Brod, The Virgin and Child, c. 1350

Medieval Wall Paintings of Gidófalva (Ghidfalău) Restored

About a decade ago, wall paintings were discovered in the church of Gidófalva (Ghidfalău, Romania), which lies in the eastern part of Transylvania, in historic Háromszék (present-day Covasna County). After careful research and a painstaking process of restoration, the restored state of the fragmentary fresco cycle was unveiled on September 2019.  The restoration was carried out by restorer Loránd Kiss and his team of the Imago Picta company. Art historian Mihály Jánó from Sepsiszentgyörgy (Sfântu Gheorghe, RO) provided the following overview of the wall paintings for the readers of the Medieval Hungary blog. 

The wall paintings of the church of Gidófalva were found on the walls of the nave of the medieval church. They were covered over in the course of the Reformation and were uncovered in a very fragmentary state. In fact, of the frescoes of the south wall, only traces of the painted curtain in the lower zone remained, the paintings themselves were destroyed.

Frescoes of the north wall during restoration

 Despite the fragmentary state of the remaining frescoes, the iconographic system of the decoration is relatively clear. Most survived from the upper register on the north wall: here we find a cycle depicting events from the Life and Passion of Christ. The narrative order of the scenes is reversed: the scenes follow each other from right to left. We see the Nativity next to the chancel arch, this is followed by the Adoration of the Magi, and we also see scenes of the Massacre of the Innocents, Flight to Egypt, the Entry into Jerusalem, and finally, by the western wall, the Last Supper.

Entry into Jerusalem

The next cycle which can be identified with certainty is the Legend of Saint Ladislas, a story which was frequently depicted in Medieval Hungary. This is located in the upper row of the western wall, and the order of the scenes again runs from right to left. Only two scenes remain: the bishop blessing Saint Ladislas before he leads his troops against pagan invaders, and then we see Ladislas and his troops in battle against the Cumans. The following scenes of the story were likely painted on the southern wall of the nave. A few other scenes were also uncovered in the church, including a depiction of Saint George fighting the dragon, also on the western wall (lower register). The wall paintings of Gidófalva still await a more detailed analysis, but tentatively they can be dated to the turn of the 14th-15th centuries. Their discovery and restoration are significant for a better understanding of the art of medieval Transylvania.

Detail from the Legend of Saint Ladislas

(Photos provided by Mihály Jánó as well).

New Book on the Art of Medieval Hungary

After several years of preparation, a new book dedicated to the Art of Medieval Hungary was finally published by Viella in Rome. Edited and written by a team of Hungarian and international experts, including today’s foremost experts in medieval art history, the book provides an up-to-date overview of research about the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. The editors are Xavier Barral i Altet, professor of art history at Université de Rennes, Pál Lővei, researcher at the Art History Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Vinni Lucherini, professor of art history at Università di Napoli Federico II, and Imre Takács, Head of the Art History Department at ELTE.

The editors have developed a novel concept for this collection of studies: rather than providing a simple chronological structure, the first part of the book consists of a series of studies arranged into thematic groups, surveying medieval art in various contexts: the art of towns and villages, art in the context of liturgy and religious cults, and art in various public and private contexts. A great attention is also given to the sources and the historiography of medieval art in Hungary. The second part of the book contains two sets of shorter essays: one dedicated to key monuments and medieval artworks, while the second set deals with museums and collections of medieval art.

Publication of the book was coordinated by the Hungarian Academy in Rome, and especially its previous director, Antal Molnár. As stated in the publisher's description: "the Hungarian Academy of Rome offers to the medievalist community a thematic synthesis about Hungarian medieval art, reconstructing, in a European perspective, more than four hundred years of artistic production in a country located right at the heart of Europe. The book presents an up-to-date view from the Romanesque through Late Gothic up to the beginning of the Renaissance, with an emphasis on the artistic relations that evolved between Hungary and other European territories, such as the Capetian Kingdom, the Italian Peninsula and the German Empire. Situated at the meeting point between the Mediterranean regions, the lands ruled by the courts of Europe west of the Alps and the territories of the Byzantine (later Ottoman) Empire, Hungary boasts an artistic heritage that is one of the most original features of our common European past." In addition, the book was produced under the auspicies of the Research Centre for the Humanities of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and with the support of the National Bank of Hungary.

Thanks to the expertly written essays, as well as the exhaustive bibliography included in the volume, the book can be regarded as an essential new starting point for research on art in medieval Hungary. The detailed contents are listed on the publisher's website, and I copied them below as well. I case you are wondering, I contributed a study on village architecture, specifically on the art and architecture of parish churches in Hungary, as well as a shorter essay on the former Augustinian church of Siklós. I included one of my illustrations below.

Plates from the book

The Art of Medieval Hungary. edited by Xavier Barral i Altet, Pál Lővei, Vinni Lucherini, Imre Takács. Bibliotheca Academiae Hungariae - Roma. Studia, 7. Roma: Viella, 2018.
732 pages, 176 plates, ISBN: 9788867286614
The book is now available for purchase.


From the contents - List of studies in the book

• Xavier Barral i Altet, Introduction. Hungarian Medieval Art from a European Point of View
• I. Sources and Studies for Hungarian Medieval Art
  Ernő Marosi, Two Centuries of Research, from the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy to the Present
  Kornél Szovák, Written Sources on Hungarian Medieval Art History
• II. City and Territory
  Katalin Szende, Towns and Urban Networks in the Carpathian Basin between the Eleventh and the Early Sixteenth Centuries
  Pál Lővei, Urban Architecture
  Zsombor Jékely, Expansion to the Countryside: Rural Architecture in Medieval Hungary
  István Feld, Castles, Mansions, and Manor Houses in Medieval Hungary
• III. Architecture and Art in the Context of Liturgy
  Béla Zsolt Szakács, Romanesque Architecture: Abbeys and Cathedrals
  Krisztina Havasi, Romanesque Sculpture in Medieval Hungary
  Imre Takács, The First Century of Gothic in Hungary
  Pál Lővei, Imre Takács, “Hungarian Trecento”: Art in the Angevin Era
  Gábor Endrődi, Winged Altarpieces in Medieval Hungary
• IV. Religious Cults and Symbols of Power
  Gábor Klaniczay, The Cult of the Saints and their Artistic Representation in Recent Hungarian Historiography
  Vinni Lucherini, The Artistic Visualization of the Concept of Kingship in Angevin Hungary
  Pál Lővei, Epigraphy and Tomb Sculpture
• V. Forms of Art between Public and Private Use
  Evelin Wetter, Precious Metalwork and Textile Treasures in Late Medieval Hungary
  Anna Boreczky, Book Culture in Medieval Hungary
• VI. The Middle Ages after the Middle Ages
  Imre Takács, Medieval Twilight or Early Modern Dawn: Art in the Era of Sigismund of Luxembourg
  Árpád Mikó, A Renaissance Dream: Arts in the Court of King Matthias
  Gábor György Papp, Medievalism in Nineteenth-Century Hungarian Architecture
• Annex I. Medieval Artworks and Monuments
• Annex II. Museums and Collections Holding Medieval Art

Siklós, Augustinian church. Detail of the early 15th-century wall paintings

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Exhibition of Medieval Stove Tiles at the Budapest History Museum

Tile from the knight-figure stove.
Buda, 1450s. © Budapest History Museum 

A major exhibition on medieval stove tiles from Hungary is on view at the Budapest History Museum in Buda Castle. The exhibition is titled Heartwarming Middle Ages - Stoves and Stove Tiles in Medieval Hungary, and its chief curator was András Végh, the director of the Castle Museum. The use of stove tiles (unglazed or glazed) was a Central European invention and such stoves became increasingly common in Hungary starting from the early 14th century. The exhibition presents the development of tile stoves at the royal court and in aristocratic castles, and it also provides an overview of the most popular motifs - biblical, historical, heraldic, etc. - on stove tiles. These motifs are explained through comparisons with other media - books, prints, seals and other objects. The exhibition also discusses the techniques and development of the making of tile stoves.

Because of the durability of glazed tiles and because of the relatively clear dates we can assign to them, these objects are favorites among archaeologists. The Budapest History Museum - which preserves all of the archaeological finds from the royal palace of Buda - has a very extensive collection of tiles, which formed the basis of the exhibition. The local material was extended through a large number of loans from Hungary and abroad alike. Taken all together, the exhibition provides an unprecedented overview of the development and richness of this medium.

 St John on a stove tile, from the Bothár-house, Besztercebánya
© Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest

Figural stove tiles from late medieval houses in Besztercebánya (Banská Bystrica, Slovakia) are among the most interesting sets displayed in the exhibition. The so-called Bothár workshop made good-quality glazed and unglazed tiles depicting saints and other figures. Most of the pieces are preserved today in the Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest - you can browse these and other tiles from that collection in the Museum's collection database.

The exhibition will remain on view until September 2, 2018. A catalogue is in preparation. An exhibition website (sadly only in Hungarian) provides more information and photos of the exhibition.

Additional photos:

Stove tile from the Sigismund-period. © Budapest History Museum

© Budapest History Museum

© Budapest History Museum