The Restoration of the High Altar of Kisszeben

After many decades of restoration, the High Altar of Kisszeben (Sabinov, Slovakia) has been assembled in the Hungarian National Gallery. The restoration of one of the largest and most ornate winged altars from the medieval period of the Kingdom of Hungary began in 1954 and was completed in the summer of 2020. The high altar was put on view from 24 September at the Gallery’s exhibition titled Late Gothic Winged Altarpieces (it is currently not on view due to the national lockdown).

I wrote on this altarpiece several years ago, when it was first put on display at the National Gallery, at that time still without its gable - see this earlier post. Further details about the history of the altarpiece can be found there. 

The winged altar, which was one of the largest and most ornate ones in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary, is dated to 1496 according to an inscription on the frame of the paintings - but it naturally took a longer period to complete. The altar was “renovated” in the baroque period, the panels of its workday side were all overpainted. This overpainting was not removed in the restoration campaign. The predella and the gable of the altar - both of which got seriously damaged - were both reconstructed.

On the occasion of the completion of the restoration, a special website was launched by the Museum of Fine Arts - Hungarian National Gallery, and a short film was also released about the altarpiece (both are in Hungarian). 

Art historians are also encouraged to read a study about the gable the altarpiece, which details the limits and possibilities of the reconstruction of this part of the altarpiece. Poszler, Györgyi: Kutatás-módszertani gyakorlat: új források, új gondolatok a kisszebeni Keresztelő Szent János-főoltár oromzatával kapcsolatban. Művészettörténeti Értesítő, 64 (2015/2). pp. 239-267.

(Source of text and images: Museum of Fine Arts - Hungarian National Gallery. For additional photos, see this report.)

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.

Mapping Eastern Europe Website Launched

The North of Byzantium initiative has launched a new open-access digital project – Mapping Eastern Europe – intended to promote the study, research, and teaching about the history, art, and culture of Eastern Europe between the thirteenth and seventeenth centuries among students, teachers, scholars, and the wider public.

Mapping Eastern Europe gathers a multitude of specialists – early career and senior scholars who have either already published or are currently researching new topics – to supply original online content in English in the form of historical overview, art historical case studies, short notices about ongoing projects, and reviews of recent books and exhibitions. 

This platform aims to stimulate new research and outreach focused on the networked regions of the Balkan Peninsula, the Carpathian Mountains, and further north into early modern Russia, which developed at the crossroads of the Latin, Greek, Slavic, and Islamic traditions during the late Middle Ages and early modern periods. This a very wide focus, and so far most of the resources on the website are related to Byzantine and Post-Byzantine art - after all, the North of Byzantium initiative focuses on art and culture of the northern frontiers of the Byzantine Empire in Eastern Europe. The website has a map-based interface to browse overview, notices, and book reviews and it will be continuously updated. Already in this early phase, there are a number of pins in the territory of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary as well.

Mapping Eastern Europe is made possible through generous support from the “Rapid Response Magic Project of the Princeton University Humanities Council”. Co-founders and editors are: Maria Alessia Rossi and Alice Isabella Sullivan.

Website: https://mappingeasterneurope.princeton.edu/

Croatia and Hungary. 800 Years of Common Heritage

Chest of Saint Simeon in Zadar, 1377-1380

The coronation of  King Koloman as King of Croatia in 1102, an act which established the Hungarian-Croatian personal union, was one of the formative events of the Middle Ages for the region. Starting from this point, the two countries were ruled by the Hungarian Kings - although control over the Dalmatian coast was lost for long periods to the Republic of Venice. Currently, and exhibition is on view in Zagreb to illustrate highlights of the common history of the two countries. This joint project of the Hungarian National Museum and the Galerija Klovićevi Dvori (Zagreb) will be shown in Budapest at the end of the year as well. The goal of the exhibition project is to present the Croatian-Hungarian cultural and cultural-historical relations in a broad and illustrative context, thus strengthening the feeling of belonging together in the two nations. The exhibition is divided into eight chronological and thematic chapters, starting with the Middle Ages and continuing with the Renaissance period. Later on, in the early modern times, heraldic representation of the Croatian-Hungarian state community was somewhat special, the relationship of the partner countries manifested in many different ways. In the Baroque era, the veneration of the Hungarian holy kings was lively in both countries. Several examples from the iconographic program and liturgical objects of the Zagreb Cathedral are showcased to highlight this common cult. A special unit is dedicated to the most emblematic family of the era, the Zrínyis/Zrinskis. Their activities in the spirit of dual patriotism left an indelible mark on the culture and art of the two countries. Other sections focus on more modern periods. 

Gianfrancesco da Tolmezzo: Crucifixion with Hungarian saints. Zagreb, 1505

A virtual exhibition was also created to present chief objects. The virtual exhibition, currently consisting of 60 objects, guides the visitor - partly chronologically and partly thematically - through the representative spaces of the Hungarian National Museum, the Dome, the Ceremonial Hall, and the Fireplace Halls. CLICK HERE to start the virtual exhibition, then select the English language version.

ARS ET VIRTUS. CROATIA - HUNGARY. 800 YEARS OF COMMON HERITAGE

Virtual exhibition of the Hungarian National Museum, 2020

10 Years of the Medieval Hungary blog

Chronicler from the Illuminated Chronicle, c. 1360

I started this blog 10 years ago, in August 2010. Originally, the idea was to try another platform, in order to provide up-to-date information - information that was hard to provide on my rudimentary website Art in Medieval Hungary. I created the first incarnation of the website in 1998, and by around 2005, it existed in its current form, with frequent updates until about 2011. Incredibly, the website is still up and running (although I no longer have access to update it). Both the website and the blog grew out of the frustration that there is almost no information available about the art of Medieval Hungary in the current English-language scholarship. One of the largest and most stable kingdoms of medieval Europe is usually just a vast empty expanse, a terra incognita in survey works and overviews of medieval art. I can identify at least three reasons for this: first, the medieval Kingdom of Hungary collapsed after the 1526 battle of Mohács and the 150 years of Ottoman rule that followed in much of the country had disastrous consequences. The central areas of medieval Hungary and its culture along with it were obliterated in this period, and even greater destruction took place at the time of the sieges of re-conquest in the seventeenth century and during the rebuilding and modernization after. Coupled with the well-known effects of the Reformation on medieval ecclesiastical art, there are vast areas of Hungary where there is almost nothing left from the medieval period (at least as far as visual arts are concerned). 

Neither destruction nor modernization affected each part of Hungary equally. The outer areas (with the exception of the southern border), in particular preserved a large part of their medieval heritage, including countless churches still in use. And here we come to the second reason: following the Treaty of Trianon after WWI, these regions are no longer part of Hungary, as they were ceded to newly-formed states. Today the great majority of important medieval sites from the medieval Kingdom of Hungary are found in the neighboring Central European states - especially in Slovakia and Romania (Transylvania). And here we reach the third obstacle: language. Most literature on the art of medieval Hungary is written in Hungarian - but there is also significant literature in Slovak and Romanian, not to mention the languages of all the other countries bordering Hungary. Also, most places have at least three names in the literature - a Hungarian name, a name in the language of modern nation-states, and a German name - creating a lot of confusion at times. 

When it comes to the first two historical factors, there is not much we can do about them - we just have to be aware of these factors when writing about medieval Hungary, and deal with them as best as we can. However, there is an easy way to fix the third factor: more publications are needed in English and German about medieval Hungary. As such publications were few and far between, I felt the need for this blog, to provide timely information about the research of medieval Hungary, and to call attention to new publications in more accessible languages. 

Detail from the Legend of Saint Ladislas, at Homoródkarácsonyfalva (Crăciunel, RO)

In the ten years since I've started this blog, the situation has improved considerably. Most importantly, a new English-language survey book is now available on the subject, providing up-to-date information.  There is also a growing number of English-language books both by Hungarian and international publishers on various aspects of medieval Hungarian art. To get an overview of new publications, please consult the detailed annotated bibliography I wrote for Oxford Bibliographies in Art History. It is a rather comprehensive bibliography on Art and Architecture in the Medieval Kingdom of Hungary and can be consulted online (with a valid institutional subscription). You could also just click on the new books tag, to find the most important new publications right here on the blog. Museum databases (such as the Museum of Fine Arts/Hungarian National Gallery, the Hungarian National Museum, or the Christian Museum in Esztergom) and library collections of medieval manuscripts (see especially the new database of the Bibliotheca Corviniana) make a lot of material much more readily accessible. Thus it is much easier for English-speaking scholars to find information about the art of Medieval Hungary than it was a decade ago.

Nevertheless, you can still expect updates on medieval art here on the blog, so please keep following here or on Twitter.

An Antonio Tempesta rediscovered in Budapest

The following news does not have much to do with medieval art in Hungary, but it is a very significant discovery made at a Hungarian museum - specifically, at the Museum of Applied Arts, where I work - and I believe that the story is of interest to readers of this blog. So here it goes - the text below is based on the research and exhibition texts of Miklós Gálos, curator of the exhibition:

A rare, two-sided painting by Antonio Tempesta was rediscovered and restored at the Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest. The painting was painted on lapis lazuli, a rare and precious stone from the Middle East, which is the raw material of ultramarine, the marvelous deep blue color of paintings. This prestigious semi-precious stone was used by Antonio Tempesta, a painter active in the early 17th-century Rome, as support of paintings made for aristocratic patrons. Tempesta’s paintings on various types of stone are real curiosities. Only three paintings on lapis lazuli survived – one of them is housed in the Louvre in Paris, the other has recently been published by Alberto and Alessandra di Castro (the work is in private collection).

Another of them – a hitherto unknown lapis lazuli painting by Tempesta – was discovered in one of the storage areas of the Museum of Applied Arts some years ago. This work actually consists of two paintings: both sides of this thin, scarcely one-millimeter thick, translucent slab present scenes from the Old Testament. One side shows the Creation of Eve, and the other the Crossing of the Red Sea. Both depictions demonstrate a perfect collaboration between nature and art. The stone slab used as support is not painted on the entire surface, therefore, its color and patterns form an integral part of the depictions. The boundaries between the natural patterns of the stone and the artist’s work are imperceptible. The frame, with its mother-of-pearl inlays, is also unusual because of its complicated, contrived image field.

Antonio Tempesta: Crossing of the Red Sea (Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest)

In January 2016, the artwork was discovered in a ruined state in one of the storage areas of the Museum of Applied Arts. The inlays of the broken frame were missing, and the stone support had been shattered with some pieces lost. Plaster infills made up a fifth of the painted surface. The shoddy inpainting on the plaster areas created a sharp contrast to the artistic quality of the original. The object did not appear in the museum’s inventory. During the next few years research managed to shed light on the provenance of the painting and later its deletion from the records. Fortunately, it was possible to determine the identities of the painter and, with considerable certainty, the original commissioner of the work. Thanks to the enthusiastic support of the Museum of Applied Arts’ Friends of the Museum, restoration was also carried out. The restoration of the lapis lazuli panel and the paintings on both sides was carried out by Ágnes Kuna. The frame was restored by Mária Szilágyi of the Museum of Applied Arts. As a result, this once-forgotten work of art has now regained its former glory. 

Antonio Tempesta: Creation of Eve, during and after restoration (Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest)

Now, the results of this work are presented to the public, in the form of a temporary exhibition at the György Ráth villa. Besides Tempesta’s painting, the exhibition includes some goldsmith works which, just like Tempesta’s painting, are examples of the fusion of an object of nature and an exceptional product of artistic talent. Like the Tempesta painting, the goldsmith works are from the former collection of Miklós Jankovich, a renowned Hungarian art collector of the early 19th century.

A detailed publication of the newly discovered Tempesta paintings - including a reconstruction of its history - was published by Miklós Gálos in volume 32 of Ars Decorativa, the Yearbook of the Museum of Applied Arts.


Miklós Gálos: An Antonio Tempesta Rediscovered in the Collection of the Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest, Ars Decorativa 32 (2018), 7-36.

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

Romanesque Stone Carvings Found at Borosjenő Castle

New finds of Romanesque stone carvings were presented by the László Teleki Foundation earlier this week. The carvings were found during reconstruction work at the castle of Borosjenő (Ineu, Romania) in 2016 and 2019. The carvings most likely come from the abbey church of Dénesmonostora, which was located near the castle and was abandoned by the early 16th century. The stone carving were found in walls of the castle dating from the 1530s-1540s. These carving now provide some context from the lone capital decorated with a siren, which had been at the Hungarian National Museum since the 1870s.

The finds shine some light on the rich architecture and culture of a chain of Árpádian era monasteries established along the lower Maros river valley - an area that played a key role in the transportation of salt from Transylvania towards the plains. Perhaps Bizere is the most famous monastery in this region, which had been excavated during recent decades - and which is discussed in an important conference volume on monastic life. More recently, excavations were started at the Cistercian monastery of Egres as well. Dénesmonostora was established for the Augustinian canons, at an unknown date before 1199. 

Siren from Borosjenő (originally Dénesmonostora), Hungarian National Museum

No research on the castle of Borosjenő had been carried out since it was rebuilt in the 1870. The building stood empty since 2004, and the municipality is currently working on rebuilding the castle. Already during the surveys carried out in 2016, it was discovered that the walls incorporate a large number of pre-1200 stone carvings used as building materials. At that time, 9 early carvings were recovered. In 2019, with support of the Rómer Flóris Plan, another 14 smaller or larger stones were found, and dozens more were documented within the walls. This work was carried about by Zsolt Kovács and Attila Weisz, art historians from Cluj.

Borosjenő (Ineu) castle, awaiting restoration

The stone carvings are mainly capitals and bases of columns, decorated with various vegetal carvings in Romanesque style. They most likely date from around the middle of the 12th century, and are very important because from this region nothing similar has been found so far - now these finds can be analyzed through comparisons with carvings from such important ecclesiastiacal centers as Székesfehérvár or Pécs. The excavation of the site of the former monastery is also planned for the near future, which would certainly help place these objects in context.

A final remark: earlier this year I published a brief study on the churches of the Augustinian canons in Hungary, where Dénesmonostora was mentioned, but I could not say much about its church. As these investigations will continue, we will certainly know more about the canons regular in Hungary as well, an order which played an important role in the 12th century monastic reform in Central Europe. 

Photos by Attila Mudrák, used with permission of the László Teleki Foundation.

Monument Protection Archives Reopen in Budapest

Viktor Myskovszky's drawing of the Saint Michael chapel
 at Kassa (Košice, SK)

The national system of monument protection has been through many changes in Hungary during the last few years: have a look at the diagram on the website of the institution to get an idea. I did not report on every step of this process (the most recent overview dates from almost three years ago)  - which led to the complete closing of Hungary's National Office for Cultural Heritage. While day-to-day tasks of heritage protection are carried out by various ministries and government offices, the care of the rich archives of the national office was uncertain for some time.
Finally in 2017, the Archives were handed over to the Hungarian Academy of Arts. This institution is now called Hungarian Museum of Architecture and Monument Protection Documentation Centre. The Academy took care of moving the collections to a new, temporary location, where now they have been made accessible again. As indicated by the name, part of this collection is that of the Hungarian Museum of Architecture, which is also supervised by the Hungarian Academy of Arts.

The Monument Protection Document Service represents the most significant collection of archival material for the study of the historic Kingdom of Hungary. Material accumulated at the archives since 1872, the foundation of the Temporary Committee for Historic Monuments, and it covers the entire territory of the Carpathian basin. All the documentation of the major restorations carried in Hungary during the last decades of the 19th century can be found there, along with documents surveying monuments of the land. During the 20th century, material continued to accumulate there.

The Document Service consists of the following parts:

• Historical archives - this is where all the documentation is kept, along with correspondence
• Collection of plans - plans and drawings are kept here, along with a super-important collection of watercolor copies of medieval wall paintings
• Photo repository - the largest collection of historic photographs of Hungarian monuments
• Library - Hungary's most important library specialized in monument protection, restoration, etc.

Copy of wall painting at Mártonhely (Martjanci, SLO) by István Gróh

The English page of the website of the institution provides more information on the holdings. The reason for this post is to announce that as of December 2, 2019, the Monument Protection Documentation Services are once again accessible for researchers. This at least is good news. This might be a good point to mention that all of the earlier publications of the National Office of Monuments Protection are available online in the hungaricana.hu database. 

Romanesque stone carvings from Pécs cathedral, photo by Péter Gerecze

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

In memoriam Tünde Wehli (1943-2019)

Photo of Tünde Wehli, taken at the celebration of her 70th birthday, 2013

It is with sadness that I report on the passing of art historian Tünde Wehli, on November 18, 2019, in the 76th year of her life. Tünde Wehli had been a long-time senior researcher at the Institute of Art History of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, starting her career there in 1970. Dr. Wehli was a scholar of medieval art, primarily manuscript illumination, and had published groundbreaking studies ranging from the 12th century Admont Bible  (the subject of her dissertation) to the Bibliotheca Corviniana. She is particularly well-known for her research on medieval patronage of manuscripts, and she also participated in the work of the Fragmenta Codicum research group of the National Széchényi Library. She also published extensively on other subjects, including Romanesque art, iconography, Hungarian royal monuments abroad as well as on seals and armorial charters. Perhaps most widely accessible is her small book on medieval Spanish painting (Painting in Medieval Spain, 1980), which was published in at least five languages. She participated in the preparation of a number of exhibitions organized by the Institute of Art History - most notably the exhibitions on King Louis the Great (1982) and Emperor Sigismund (1987). You can have a look at the list of her publications in the Kubikat catalogue. Many of her publications can be found in the digital publication archive of the Institute of Art History.

Dr. Wehli was a very kind, helpful colleague. Although I only worked with her during my brief tenure at the Institute 25 years ago, she has followed my progress with great interest over the years and was always ready to help with advice or literature. As a teacher - participating in the art history program at Pázmány Péter Catholic University - she was also greatly admired. It is no wonder that she was celebrated with a hefty Festschrift - published as a special volume of the journal Ars Hungarica - on her 70th birthday in 2013 (you can read it online here). She will be remembered fondly by her students and colleagues and will be greatly missed. May she rest in peace.

Office of the Dead, Book of Hours, Flemish, about 1450–1455 (J.P. Getty Museum, Ms. 2)

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 Permanent Exhibition of the Seuso Treasure in Budapest

On July 28, 2019, the new, permanent exhibition of the Seuso Treasure opened at the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest. This famed collection of 14 silver items of tableware represent the most valuable silver treasure collectıon from the late Roman Empire. The pieces of the silver tableware represent the highest level of art of their era. The treasure was discovered in the 1970s and was subsequently smuggled out of Hungary. I reported on its recovery by the Hungarian state on two previous occasions - see the first post, and this one as well. During last year, the treasure was already on view at the Hungarian National Museum, in a temporary exhibition. Now the items were moved into another part of the Museum, and an introductory part - focusing on the role of silver objects in the late Roman period - was added to the exhibition. The silver quadripus thought to belong to the set (and known since the 19th century) is also on view. The pieces can be examined in well-lit large glass showcases, and a visit to the Treasure is now part of the permanent exhibition ticket of the Museum. On this occasion, a well-illustrated new publication was also published about the Seuso Treasure. The exhibition was curated by Marianna Dági and Zsolt Mráv.

The Seuso Treasure - The Splendour of Roman Pannonia. Permanent exhibition of the Hungarian National Museum.