History of Art

PhD Dissertation
Yale University, 2003
Advisor: Walter Cahn

This dissertation provides an in-depth analysis of the former Augustinian church at Siklós in southern Hungary, and its fresco decoration. Commissioned by an aristocratic family, the frescoes reveal a wealth of information about art and patronage in the reign of King Sigismund (1387-1437). The Introduction provides an overview of art historical literature dealing with Siklós and its church, and outlines the problems discussed in the dissertation. Part I. focuses on the history and architecture of the church. The Augustinian canons settled at Siklós in the early fourteenth century, invited by the Siklósi family. Their first church, dedicated to St. Anne, stood near Siklós castle, and was completed before 1343. It was built in a simple manner resembling contemporary mendicant churches. At the end of the fourteenth century, under its new patrons, members of the Garai family, the church was remodeled.
Part II. surveys the painted decoration of the church. There were two layers of frescoes in the sanctuary, and the remainder of this chapter is dedicated to the earlier layer, of which only fragments remain. Painted in the 1360s, these frescoes are most likely the work of a group of masters familiar with Riminese painting, or its offshoots in Hungary-Croatia (cf. Esztergom, Zagreb). Part III. focuses on the later, more fully preserved decorative scheme executed around 1410 under the Garai family’s patronage. After a description, the iconography of key scenes is analyzed. Most attention is given to the large scenes on the walls: the Crucifixion, the Coronation of the Virgin, and the Traditio Legis. Based on comparisons with the painting of Altichiero and his circle, and with works of his followers in South-Tyrol, the chapter demonstrates that direct connections with Italian painting did not cease with the demise of the Neapolitan Angevin dynasty in Hungary (1382). The frescoes are then placed in their historical context. First they are examined as a product of Garai patronage, by comparing them to other monuments commissioned by this family and other barons. Other elements of an ensemble of monuments at Siklós, including the castle and its frescoed chapel, as well as the tombstone of Miklós (I) Garai, are also discussed. The church functioned as a family burial church, similar to a group of monuments, all richly decorated with frescoes. In conclusion, the contribution of these findings to a fuller understanding aristocratic patronage in the Sigismund period is summarized.

Regions and interregional connections – A group of frescoes in the Kingdom of Hungary from around 1420
By Zsombor Jékely, Budapest
Summary

This study focuses on an a few examples of fresco decoration commissioned by aristocrats in the Kingdom of Hungary during the first decades of the 15th century. Despite geographical, regional differences, these frescoes are related to each other in many ways: stylistic, iconographic and conceptual.
The first monument to be analyzed is the fresco decoration of the castle chapel at Siklós. The castle chapel of Siklós is located in the eastern wing of the castle, a wing entirely built under the Garai family in the early fifteenth century. In the nave of the chapel, on each of the side walls, there is a wall niche decorated with wall-paintings. The niche in the southern wall is decorated with the figures of two standing saints: Saint Leonard and Saint Ladislas. The eastern wall of the niche contains an image of the Man of Sorrows, while the vault is decorated with the Lamb (Agnus Dei); a chalice and the host next to it. The back wall of the northern niche contains an image of the suffering Job, accompanied by his wife and three of his friends. The commission of these frescoes can be tentatively connected with the 1415 captivity and release of János Garai during a Bosnian military campaign. Based on their style, the frescoes of both niches are here dated to around 1420. Their patron then must have been Miklós Garai, together with his brother, János. The learned and personal aspect of the frescoes and the importance of inscriptions on them (as seen on the Job-scene) relate them to a group of frescoes dating from around 1415-1430. In all cases, the commission of the frescoes can be connected to aristocratic patrons.
The most interesting of such cycles can be found in the southern aisle of the basilica of Štitnik in Gemer County. The subject of the frescoes includes the Parable of the Talents, the Seven Sacraments and a depiction of the Seven Liberal Arts. These frescoes can also be dated to the 1420s, when the town was in the property of László Csetneki, canon at Esztergom at later the bishop of Nitra (1439-1448). The complex iconography of the frescoes pays tribute to the well-educated and highly successful László Csetneki, one of King Sigismund’s trusted confidants. Another church in the Gemer region deserves our attention for its particular iconography. At Kyjatice, the north wall of the nave is decorated with a large, circular Last Judgment fresco. An inscription in minuscule script dates the frescoes to 1426. At that time, Kyjatice was under the patronage of the Derencsényi family. A comparable monument is known from the far-away church of Suatu in Transylvania, datable to the same period. The patrons of this church were members of the Suki family, as documented by the coats of arms can on the capitals supporting the vault. Both of these large Last Judgment compositions are probably based on manuscript sources, and well express the concerns of their commissioners about the afterlife.
In all of the frescoes discussed, the iconography is unusual, containing various references to the commissioners or simply exhibiting a sophistication and detail not seen in other monuments. The learned aspect of the frescoes and the importance of inscriptions on them also connect the works. From the appearance of this type of decoration in many parts of the country at around the same time, it is reasonable to suggest that they reflect a style and manner of decoration favored in the center of the country, more specifically in the royal court. The examination of these frescoes seems to reinforce earlier observations regarding aristocratic patronage of the period, which demonstrated for example that in the designs of their castles and in the character of their tombs, aristocrats closely followed the model of the royal court. Crossing regional and even international borders with the ease of their commissioners, aristocratic commissions constitute a fairly consistent group of buildings, carvings, and frescoes. Thus in the reign of Sigismund, just as a particular kind of art was practiced in the towns – perhaps less dependent on the art of the royal court – another stratum can be detected in aristocratic patronage.

In the first half of the fourteenth century, the most prestigious place of learning for Hungarian clergymen was Bologna. Clerics studying there not only became prominent ecclesiastical figures, but also fulfilled important roles in the chancery and diplomacy of the Hungarian Angevin kings. While in Bologna or after their
return to Hungary, many of these men of letters commissioned illuminated manuscripts from Bolognese workshops, and thus played a decisive role in the reception of the new sensibilities of Italian art in Hungary. The first of these patrons that can be clearly identified is Demeter Nekcsei, magister tavarnicorum of the Hungarian court. Work on Nekcsei’s two-volume Bible was most likely completed by 1338, the year of his death. The paper analyses this manuscript.

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The Premonstratensian monastery of Lelesz, dedicated to the Holy Cross, was founded by Boleszló, the bishop of Vác (1188–1212). Patronage, however, was given over to the king, and later rulers in turn handed patronage of the monastery to their subjects. In 1214, the act of foundation was reinforced and the church of Lelesz consecrated. With the king’s support, Lelesz became one of the wealthiest monasteries and an important place of authentication (locus credibilis). The new church of the monastery was built around the middle of the 14th century; in 1362 magister Johannes from Buda was contracted to build the tower. The chapel of Saint Michael, standing to the north of the church, and originally probably also serving as the chapter house, was built under the prior Dominicus of the Pálóci family (1378–1403). Around 1400, this new chapel was fully decorated with wall paintings. Much of the decoration – for example the frescoes of the vault – were destroyed when the chapel was re-vaulted in the 18th century. Still, a complete cycle of wall-paintings survives on the side walls of the chapel. On the south wall, there is a large, three-level image of the Last Judgment, with Christ in the mandorla dominating the scene, accompanied by the apostles on either side. In the lunettes of the north wall, two scenes can be detected: the one to the east depicts Saint Elisabeth of Hungary, while the other is possibly an image of Pope Urban V, in the company of cardinals. On the eastern walls of the chapel, apostles or prophets are depicted, framed by painted tracery. The focus of the paper is the series of figures depicted on the two lower zones of the north wall. As can be determined with the help of fragmentary inscriptions, these figures represent the kings of Hungary, starting from King Saint Stephen. The inscription gives the names of rulers and the number of years they ruled. The cycle is fragmentary, so we do not know exactly how many kings were depicted, but there is enough space for all the Hungarian sovereigns up until the then-current ruler, Sigismund (1387–1437). Such a cycle is unique from the territory of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. Best parallel is provided by the cycle of initials in the Illuminated Chronicle (c. 1360, Széchényi National Library, Cod. Lat. 404), which also depict the pagan rulers of Hungarian prehistory, giving a complete genealogical cycle. Models of this cycle – just like that of the contemporary Luxemburg genealogy once on the walls of Karlstein castle in Bohemia – were provided by French manuscripts, especially the Grandes Chroniques de France. Emphasis in the cycle is not on individual kings, but on the unity and continuity of the line of Hungarian kings. One figure stands out: the first (badly damaged) ruler of the cycle is depicted enthroned. It is here proposed that the cycle starts with an image of the current ruler, King Sigismund. The style and iconography of the cycle make it a prime example of the International Gothic style, and these characteristic can be explained by the close connections of Lelesz abbey to the royal court.

The Tale of Two Lovers, Euryalus and Lucretia
Emperor Sigismund in the Love Story of Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini
Sigismund of Luxemburg, King of Hungary (1387–1437) and Holy Roman Emperor (1410/11–1437), was one of the most frequently depicted public figures of the late Middle Ages. Depictions of him can be found in countless copies of chronicles, including Ulrich Richental’s Chronicle of the Council of Constance, Eberhard Windecke’s Recollections of the Time of Sigismund, and a number of French chronicles dealing with the Crusade of Nicopolis and other events. In the present paper, attention is given to depictions of Sigismund in illustrated versions of a popular story from the second half of the 15th century: The Tale of Two Lovers, set in Siena in 1432, and written by Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini, the future pope Pius II. In a French manuscript at the Getty Museum (Ms. 68), a miniature placed at the beginning of the story shows the arrival of Sigismund in Siena, in the company of a group of beautiful women. A comparison with other illustrated versions of the story (mainly incunabula printed in Germany) reveals that the illuminator of the French manuscript really had no idea what Sigismund was like. On the other hand, thanks to a proliferation of chronicles and a large number of public images, the memory of the lineaments of the Emperor lived on in the territory of the Holy Roman Empire until the early 16th century.

Zsombor Jékely: Copies of the medieval murals of the legend of Saint Ladislas, 1863-1914. In Art Hungarica 23 (1995)
Abstract:
Before the advent of color photographs, it was common practice to make copies of wall-paintings. Everytime new murals were discovered, first small watercolor sketches were made at the spot, and later complete watercolor copies were executed on the basis of these sketches, while occasionally large scale copies on a 1:1 scale were also painted. In Hungary, the historia of Saint Ladislas (1077-1095), depicting him in the battle of Kerlés was among the most frequently copied, and it was distributed in many forms.
The first example of this common cycle was discovered at Bántornya in 1863, and it was copied by the painter and restorer, Ferenc Storno. The discovery caused a great sensation, and in response, Storno created romantic-historic compositions, based on the painted cycle (appeared in 1868). The original copies, along with two other Ladislas cycles discovered in the meantime, were published in the work of Flóris Rómer, entitled Old Hungarian Murals (1874).
Most watercolor copies of the Saint Ladislas cycle were painted by József Huszka, who discovered altogether ten cycles of the legend between 1881 and 1898 in the territories of the Szeklers. His copies were sent to the National Committee of Monuments, and today they are preserved in the Archives of the Institute for the Preservation of Historic Monuments in Budapest (OMvH), but a more vivid image is presented by the original watercolor sketches, placed on Huszka's bequest in the archives of the Ethnographic Museum in Budapest. Many murals copied by him are presently covered with whitewash, or were destroyed some time ago, making these copies especially valuable. For example the murals of the destroyed churches of Homoródszentmárton, Maksa and Erdőfüle, and the frescoes at Sepsikilyén, still covered by plaster, can be studied only through Huszka's copies. Huszka published his copies as illustrations to his articles in the Archaeological Review, but the copies of the Saint Ladislas cycle appeared in countless other publications.
The activity of Huszka belongs to the period, when several drawing teachers travelled the country, and made copies of the numerous frescoes discovered at that time. The most important of them was István Gróh, who discovered and copied the Saint Ladislas cycle in three churches in Gömör county. At the beginning of our century, he also made large scale copies of the cycle at Bántornya, and also at Gelence and Székelyderzs, for the Museum of Fine Arts (today in the National Gallery, Budapest).
Although most of these copies are usually not a reliable source for stylistic analysis, they are ideal in helping to study the compositions and iconography. Moreover, since the copies were all made about one hundred years ago, the murals were usually in better condition than now, and the copies often show a state before restoration. If their intended function is taken into consideration, then these copies can be of invaluable help for the art historian.

Our knowledge of medieval wall painting in Transylvania has expanded significantly over the last two decades. The region, which in the Middle Ages was an integral part of the Kingdom of Hungary (and now is part of Romania), boasts an extremely rich heritage in this field. Mural decorations from the 14th and 15th centuries can still be found in village churches dating back to medieval times, having survived later phases of construction and reconstruction. During the last two decades, intensive research and investigation has even uncovered new monuments. Despite recent cuts in funding, this process has sped up during the last few years, to the point where the history of medieval painting in Transylvania needs to be entirely re-evaluated. The paper deals with a particular topic, the Legend of Saint Ladislas, focusing on newly discovered monuments.