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.

What's next for the Medieval Hungary blog?

Late 14th century wall-painting at Nitra cathedral

Regular readers of this blog may have noticed that I haven't posted here for a while. The reasons for this are manifold - among others, I don't seem to have as much time these days as some years ago. Also, I feel that the importance of this blog has decreased in the last few years. When I started this blog ten years ago, it was very hard to find up-to-date information about the art of Medieval Hungary. Thanks to numerous new publications and online resources, the situation has improved considerably in recent years. Most importantly, a new English-language survey book is now available on the subject, providing up-to-date information. Those who would like to find publications on more specific subjects, I can now advise the consultation of the annotated bibliography I put together 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).

In addition, the digitization of museum collections (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 more material much more accessible. In other words, it is much easier for English-speaking scholars to find information about the art of Medieval Hungary than it was a decade ago.

Original carved decoration of the portal of the parish church at Bártfa (Bardejov), discovered in 2019

Therefore, I feel less pressure to regularly post new information here. This does not mean that there will be no new posts here - but definitely not with the regularity characteristic of this blog until about 2017. I've looked at the blog stats now - there are about 5000 page views here per month, with the most popular posts each getting that many - hundreds of thousands of page views in total. This tells me that there is still a need for this resource.

What do you think? How did this blog help you over the years? Let me know in a comment.

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See also: Jekely, Zsombor. “Art and Architecture in the Medieval Kingdom of Hungary.” In Oxford Bibliographies in Art History. Ed. Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019. DOI: 10.1093/OBO/9780199920105-0136