Papers by Anna Kónya
Medieval Murals. New Perspectives and Research Approaches, ed. Mija Oter Gorenčič, 2024
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Certamen X. Előadások a Magyar Tudomány Napján az Erdélyi Múzeum-Egyesület I. Szakosztályában. Szerk. Egyed Emese, Pakó László, Weisz Attila, 2023
This study focuses on a wall painting triptych painted in tromp l’oeil on the eastern wall of the... more This study focuses on a wall painting triptych painted in tromp l’oeil on the eastern wall of the chapel in the so-called “Tower of Mary” in Mediaș, once serving as the decoration of the medieval altar. In the central panel of the triptych, the figure of God the Father can be seen, holding the inert body of Christ in front of him by his chest, flanked by Saint John the Baptist on the right wing and a fragmentary figure on the left.
After a brief presentation of the wall painting ensemble, in the first part of the paper I discuss the compositional characteristics and analogies of the Notgottes representation in the central panel. Dating the wall painting ensemble to the end of the fifteenth century, Dana Jenei traces the composition back to an engraving of the same theme by Master E.S. (Lehrs 186, c. 1450-1460). Proposing the two panels from the church of the Virgin Mary in Gdańsk representing the Notgottes as closer analogies, I argue that the composition in Mediaș was probably inspired by an earlier model than the engraving, which would also better correspond to a dating of the wall paintings to the mid-fifteenth century, suggested by the year 1465 carved into the painted surface under the left wing of the triptych.
In the second part of the paper, based on an examination of surviving details and a consideration of compositional analogies, I revise previous hypothetical reconstructions of the fragmentary figure on the left wing of the triptych and aim to more precisely determine her probable iconography. While the suggestion formulated in earlier literature that the Virgin Mary had been depicted here is highly plausible, it is interesting to note that in two representations of the related theme of the Throne of Mercy, it is Mary holding the child Jesus who appears as a pendant to Saint John the Baptist with the Agnus Dei. The pairing of the Madonna with images of the Throne of Mercy and the Notgottes, as well as with the figure of Saint John the Baptist holding his Christological attribute, were in themselves also recurrent patterns in late medieval art. It is thus plausible that, in line with contemporary iconographic trends, in Mediaș, too, the figure of the Virgin Mary holding the child Christ was represented on the left wing of the illusionistic triptych, enriching the overall Christological significance of the composition.
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Ezt cselekedjétek! Tanulmányok az úrvacsoráról Szerk. Hafenscher Károly – Isó M. Emese – Zászkaliczky Zsuzsanna. Budapest, Luther Kiadó, 2022
In the study of late medieval church interiors, it is an intriguing question how monumental art c... more In the study of late medieval church interiors, it is an intriguing question how monumental art constituting the visual environment of mass celebration was connected to the Eucharistic cult and liturgy. In this paper, I explore to what extent and how representations of Veronica’s veil were used as a Eucharistic theme in Transylvanian wall painting, considering at the same time the different meanings of this image type coming to the fore in various contexts.
The examples analysed point to a conscious use of the Veronica as a Eucharistic image within the material under study. Its occurrence in the decoration of the sacrament niche, the eastern chancel wall serving as a visual backdrop to the liturgy performed at the high altar, or the chancel arch serving as its visual frame, suggests an understanding of the Holy Face as a reference to the body of Christ present in the sacrament, in line with tendencies already demonstrated by earlier research on the theme. Compositional variants focusing on the act of display (either by Saint Veronica or angels) or visually evoking the host wafer through a formal resemblance may have facilitated more specific connections to mass celebration. Associations with other sacramental themes (the Man of Sorrows, the Crucifixion, or the Adoration of the Magi) could further amplify and nuance the Eucharistic meaning of the sudarium.
The Eucharistic was by all means but one of various potential layers of meaning of this versatile image. While the proximity of the Last Judgment could evoke its eschatological meaning as an anticipation of the beatific vision at the end of times, some compositional variants suggest an influence of the cult of relic in Rome. A recurring pattern fitting into both the context of Eucharistic devotion and relic cult is the thematising of the act of veneration, the sudarium being presented as an object of devotion, with figures of identification providing the viewer with models for adoring the Holy Face.
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Látkép 2021 - Művészettörténeti tanulmányok. Szerk. Árvai-Józsa Kitty et al., 2022
Although wall painting decoration was widely used in the visual embellishment of altars throu... more Although wall painting decoration was widely used in the visual embellishment of altars throughout the late medieval period, we have relatively little comprehensive knowledge of this phenomenon. One of the reasons for this is that the ensembles in which wall paintings – sometimes together with other works of art or architectural elements – formed the decoration of the altar can rarely be studied in their original state, and due to the later removal of medieval altars, many wall painting compositions can only hypothetically be identified as altarpieces. At the same time, the examination of wall paintings once serving as altarpieces can contribute to a more refined view of the medieval altar and its visual environment, enrich our knowledge of wall painting as a medium shaping liturgical space and religious experience, and also enable a better understanding of certain compositions as well as certain repeating patterns in the decoration programs. Through examples taken from fifteenth-century Transylvanian wall painting, this paper examines the characteristics of mural retables, the possibilities and limitations inherent in the genre, at the same time exploring general patterns in which the individual examples fit into.
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Certamen VIII. Előadások a Magyar Tudomány Napján az Erdélyi Múzeum-Egyesület I. Szakosztályában. Szerk. Egyed Emese et al. (Paper presented at the 2017 conference "The Day of Hungarian Science in Transylvania, 16th Forum – Art history section"), 2021
The study analyses two wall painting representations, whose unusual, seemingly inconsistent icono... more The study analyses two wall painting representations, whose unusual, seemingly inconsistent iconographic features pose challenges for interpretation. The first part of the article focuses on a composition on the northern chancel wall in the parish church of Daia, which has previously been described as an allegory of the Church as a ship. Based on an examination of its iconographic features and compositional analogies, I argue for an identification as the Martyrdom of Saint Ursula and the Eleven Thousand Virgins. At the same time, through the motif of the Crucifixion on the ship’s mast the narrative scene acquires a broader, allegorical meaning and can be fit into a composition type connected to Saint Ursula confraternities, where the vessel of the saint is presented as the ship carrying the community of believers toward the harbour of eternal life under the protection of Christ’s cross.
In the second part of the study, I focus on an image of Saint Valentine within the recently discovered wall painting decoration of the southern chancel wall in the former church of the Dominican nunnery in Sibiu. Besides his conventional attribute, an epileptic lying at his feet, the bishop saint is holding a golden monstrance in his left hand, which is an unusual element in his iconography. This attribute also appears in a compositionally similar representation of Saint Valentine in the altarpiece from Bruiu (1520).The common source of both compositions can be identified in a woodcut by Lucas Cranach prepared for the Wittenberger Heiltumsbuch (1509), representing a reliquary statue. While in the original work the monstrance functioned as a container of relics, it acquired a new, eucharistic meaning when the composition was transposed from the printed model into the media of panel and mural painting.
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Opus Mixtum VI. A Centrart Egyesület évkönyve 2020. Szerk. Isó M. Emese et al. (Paper presented at the 6th Conference of Young Art Historians, Esztergom, October 2017)., 2020
This paper examines the connections between representations of the Man of Sorrows and the Euchari... more This paper examines the connections between representations of the Man of Sorrows and the Eucharistic cult and liturgy through four examples taken from the Late Gothic wall painting in Transylvania (c. 1440-1530). In the fragmentary composition on the western wall of the south-western tower base of the Saint Michael’s church in Cluj, Christ is depicted surrounded by the instruments of his Passion. The analysis focuses on the iconographic features, part of which can only be hypothetically reconstructed, and the connections of the Man of Sorrows composition to the Passion cycle painted on the neighbouring northern wall. The medieval function of the chapel is not known; while the iconographic program focusing on the sacrifice of Christ is concurrent with an identification of the room as a Corpus Christi chapel as suggested by Flóris Rómer, in the absence of further evidence this hypothesis cannot be proved.
In the parish church in Ormeniş, a fragment of a relatively rare representation has recently come to light above the sacrament niche on the northern chancel wall, showing a detail of the figure of Christ and an angel collecting the streams of blood issuing from his wounds into a chalice. The composition suggestively demonstrating the origin of the Holy Sacrament may have resonated with the text of the liturgy at several moments of the Mass.
The monumental Calvary composition in the parish church in Sibiu presents a unique formal solution, where the illusionistic gridded niche accommodating the figure of the Man of Sorrows representing the essence of the Eucharist evokes the tabernacle usually placed on the northern chancel wall.
On the eastern wall of the chapel of the so-called Marienturm in Mediaș, the representation of an imitated triptych can be seen in a framework of blind traceries, with a depiction of the Notgottes in the central panel. The analysis explores the interconnections between the trompe l’oeil technique and the iconographic program centred on the sacrifice of Christ.
The analysed examples point to a conscious use of the Man of Sorrows and the related image type of the Notgottes in the decoration of parts of the church interior where Christ was present in the form of the bread and wine transformed at the altar or in the Eucharist stored in the tabernacle. At the same time, the case studies demonstrate the formal and iconographic variety of this image type in Transylvanian wall painting. The motifs of the chalice or the angelus missae, illusionistic references to pieces of liturgical furnishing, and an association with other representations of Christ’s sacrifice amplified and nuanced the Eucharistic meaning of the Man of Sorrows in various ways.
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Les modèles dans l’art du Moyen Âge (XIIe-XVe siècles). Models in the Art of the Middle Ages (12th-15th Centuries), ed. Laurence Terrier Aliferis and Denise Borlée, 2018
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Acta Historiae Artium, 2017
Eucharistic references in the representations of saints constitute a relatively unexplored segmen... more Eucharistic references in the representations of saints constitute a relatively unexplored segment within the iconography of the Holy Sacrament. This article analyses a number of hagiographical compositions from the Late Gothic wall paintings of Transylvania, which seem to carry eucharistic connotations, either through explicit references to the Sacrament (in the form of a monstrance, a chalice or host-shaped bread) or through subtler allusions to the sacrificial Body of Christ present in the Eucharist. The fact that most of these images are located in the sanctuaries of churches and are typically associated with other, more straightforward eucharistic imagery suggests conscious choices on the part of the inventors of the iconographic programs in adapting the subject matter of the wall paintings to the function of the given liturgical space.
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Képváltás. Tanulmányok a Fiatal Művészettörténészek V. Konferenciájának előadásaiból. Szerk. P. Kovács Klára–Pál Emese. Kolozsvár, Entz Géza Művelődéstörténeti Alapítvány–Erdélyi Múzeum-Egyesület, 2017
In the study of medieval church interiors, it is an intriguing question how the choice of iconogr... more In the study of medieval church interiors, it is an intriguing question how the choice of iconographic themes is adapted to the function of the liturgical space where they are located. From a liturgical point of view, the most important space of the church was the chancel, where the liturgical representation of the sacrifice of Christ took place in each Mass. Through examples of Late Gothic wall paintings from Transylvania (c. 1450–1530), the study examines the Eucharistic iconography of chancel decorations, giving an overview of the different types of Eucharistic representations, and analyzing how their iconography is related to their placement in the liturgical space, in some cases directly associated with pieces of liturgical furnishing.
Narrative cycles representing the Passion of Christ – such as the one in Barcarozsnyó (Râșnov, RO) – constitute the first group of representations. It is interesting to note that while the extensive hagiographical and biblical narrative cycles prevalent in earlier wall paintings generally lost their appeal in the Late Gothic period, Passion cycles remained a characteristic component of chancel decorations up to the early 16th century. Usually located on the northern wall of the chancel, sometimes incorporating the sacramental niche, the Passion cycles, evoking the suffering and the sacrifice of Christ, suited well the liturgical function of the sanctuary. With the emphasis of certain scenes or motifs through size or placement, the Eucharistic meaning could be made even more evident.
Similarly, we can find several examples of alone standing images centred on the sacrifice of Christ, taken out of the narrative context of the Passion story. In Marosszentimre (Sântimbru, RO) the Man of Sorrows with the arma Christi flanked by two angels was represented on the north-eastern sanctuary wall, an image displaying the wounded Body of Christ, being particularly suitable to visualize the otherwise abstract notion of the Eucharist. In some cases, the placement of the wall paintings in relation to liturgical furnishing further emphasizes the Eucharistic meaning, as in the case of the wall paintings from Székelydálya (Daia, RO) and Segesvár (Sighișoara, RO), serving as the decoration of sacrament niches, or a Crucifixion scene from Nyomát (Maiad, RO) which, based on its iconography, placement and structure was most probably associated with a side-altar once standing below it.
Scenes from Christ’s Infancy constitute a third group of representations with possible Eucharistic connotations. While images representing the Incarnation of Christ were often interpreted in Eucharistic terms, Ursula Nilgen argues that there was a more explicit connection between Adoration of the Magi scenes and the Eucharist that can be traced back to liturgical Magi plays performed on the feast of the Epiphany. Hence Adoration of the Magi scenes often contain references to the Eucharist. In a representation decorating the north-eastern sanctuary wall of the parish church in Baráthely (Brateiu, RO) the gift offered by the second magus resembles a monstrance.
While hagiographical images are at a first glance unrelated to the Eucharistic cult, they may also contain Eucharistic allusions. While in the case of the Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand (Alsóbajom (Boian, RO)) the particularities of the saints’ suffering recall the Passion and sacrifice of Christ, in other representations we can observe more explicit Eucharistic motifs. Below the Martyrdom scene in Alsóbajom, there is a representation of Saint Paul the Hermit being fed by a raven with a Host-shaped bread. In the southern apse of the Saint Michael’s church in Kolozsvár (Cluj, RO), Saint Fabian is represented with a Gothic monstrance, an attribute that seems unparalleled in his iconography.
In conclusion, besides confirming an evident connection between the subject matter of the wall paintings and the function of the given space of the church, the various ways of emphasizing Eucharistic meaning suggest conscious choices and ingenuity on the part of the inventors of the iconographic programs.
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Certamen II. Előadások a Magyar Tudomány Napján az Erdélyi Múzeum-Egyesület I. Szakosztályában. Szerk. Egyed Emese et al., 2015
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Annual of Medieval Studies at CEU. vol. 20. ed. Judith Rasson and Katalin Szende, 2014
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Kóstolni a szép-tudományba – Tanulmányok a Fiatal Művészettörténészek IV. Konferenciájának előadásaiból. Szerk. Székely Miklós., 2014
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Book Reviews by Anna Kónya
Korunk 26, no. 1 , 2015
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IKON 8, 2015
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Popularizing articles by Anna Kónya
Veszprém város templomai / Churches of Veszprém. Szerk. Jankovics Norbert. Veszprém, 2023
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https://memmdk.hu/cikkek/cikksorozatok/falkepmasolatok-a-tervtarbol
The nearly 900 copies in... more https://memmdk.hu/cikkek/cikksorozatok/falkepmasolatok-a-tervtarbol
The nearly 900 copies in watercolour and on tracing paper preserved in the Plan Collection of the Hungarian Museum of Architecture and Monument Protection Documentation Center in Budapest represent a rich source for both the research of wall painting in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary and the history of monument protection. The copies prepared between the 1860s and the 1930s, recording an earlier state of the wall paintings, are often of an outstanding source value in case of a genre subjected to damage, repaintings, and sometimes total destruction. Prepared for the most part during the first fifty years of existence of the institutional monument protection system in Hungary, they also reflect the changing expectations connected to the documentation of monuments over time.
The aim of this series of short articles focusing on copies of medieval wall paintings is to explore the significance, development, as well as the possibilities and limitations of the genre, illustrating at the same time how their study can enrich our knowledge on medieval wall painting and iconography, the individual monuments, and the history of monument protection.
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Papers by Anna Kónya
After a brief presentation of the wall painting ensemble, in the first part of the paper I discuss the compositional characteristics and analogies of the Notgottes representation in the central panel. Dating the wall painting ensemble to the end of the fifteenth century, Dana Jenei traces the composition back to an engraving of the same theme by Master E.S. (Lehrs 186, c. 1450-1460). Proposing the two panels from the church of the Virgin Mary in Gdańsk representing the Notgottes as closer analogies, I argue that the composition in Mediaș was probably inspired by an earlier model than the engraving, which would also better correspond to a dating of the wall paintings to the mid-fifteenth century, suggested by the year 1465 carved into the painted surface under the left wing of the triptych.
In the second part of the paper, based on an examination of surviving details and a consideration of compositional analogies, I revise previous hypothetical reconstructions of the fragmentary figure on the left wing of the triptych and aim to more precisely determine her probable iconography. While the suggestion formulated in earlier literature that the Virgin Mary had been depicted here is highly plausible, it is interesting to note that in two representations of the related theme of the Throne of Mercy, it is Mary holding the child Jesus who appears as a pendant to Saint John the Baptist with the Agnus Dei. The pairing of the Madonna with images of the Throne of Mercy and the Notgottes, as well as with the figure of Saint John the Baptist holding his Christological attribute, were in themselves also recurrent patterns in late medieval art. It is thus plausible that, in line with contemporary iconographic trends, in Mediaș, too, the figure of the Virgin Mary holding the child Christ was represented on the left wing of the illusionistic triptych, enriching the overall Christological significance of the composition.
The examples analysed point to a conscious use of the Veronica as a Eucharistic image within the material under study. Its occurrence in the decoration of the sacrament niche, the eastern chancel wall serving as a visual backdrop to the liturgy performed at the high altar, or the chancel arch serving as its visual frame, suggests an understanding of the Holy Face as a reference to the body of Christ present in the sacrament, in line with tendencies already demonstrated by earlier research on the theme. Compositional variants focusing on the act of display (either by Saint Veronica or angels) or visually evoking the host wafer through a formal resemblance may have facilitated more specific connections to mass celebration. Associations with other sacramental themes (the Man of Sorrows, the Crucifixion, or the Adoration of the Magi) could further amplify and nuance the Eucharistic meaning of the sudarium.
The Eucharistic was by all means but one of various potential layers of meaning of this versatile image. While the proximity of the Last Judgment could evoke its eschatological meaning as an anticipation of the beatific vision at the end of times, some compositional variants suggest an influence of the cult of relic in Rome. A recurring pattern fitting into both the context of Eucharistic devotion and relic cult is the thematising of the act of veneration, the sudarium being presented as an object of devotion, with figures of identification providing the viewer with models for adoring the Holy Face.
In the second part of the study, I focus on an image of Saint Valentine within the recently discovered wall painting decoration of the southern chancel wall in the former church of the Dominican nunnery in Sibiu. Besides his conventional attribute, an epileptic lying at his feet, the bishop saint is holding a golden monstrance in his left hand, which is an unusual element in his iconography. This attribute also appears in a compositionally similar representation of Saint Valentine in the altarpiece from Bruiu (1520).The common source of both compositions can be identified in a woodcut by Lucas Cranach prepared for the Wittenberger Heiltumsbuch (1509), representing a reliquary statue. While in the original work the monstrance functioned as a container of relics, it acquired a new, eucharistic meaning when the composition was transposed from the printed model into the media of panel and mural painting.
In the parish church in Ormeniş, a fragment of a relatively rare representation has recently come to light above the sacrament niche on the northern chancel wall, showing a detail of the figure of Christ and an angel collecting the streams of blood issuing from his wounds into a chalice. The composition suggestively demonstrating the origin of the Holy Sacrament may have resonated with the text of the liturgy at several moments of the Mass.
The monumental Calvary composition in the parish church in Sibiu presents a unique formal solution, where the illusionistic gridded niche accommodating the figure of the Man of Sorrows representing the essence of the Eucharist evokes the tabernacle usually placed on the northern chancel wall. On the eastern wall of the chapel of the so-called Marienturm in Mediaș, the representation of an imitated triptych can be seen in a framework of blind traceries, with a depiction of the Notgottes in the central panel. The analysis explores the interconnections between the trompe l’oeil technique and the iconographic program centred on the sacrifice of Christ.
The analysed examples point to a conscious use of the Man of Sorrows and the related image type of the Notgottes in the decoration of parts of the church interior where Christ was present in the form of the bread and wine transformed at the altar or in the Eucharist stored in the tabernacle. At the same time, the case studies demonstrate the formal and iconographic variety of this image type in Transylvanian wall painting. The motifs of the chalice or the angelus missae, illusionistic references to pieces of liturgical furnishing, and an association with other representations of Christ’s sacrifice amplified and nuanced the Eucharistic meaning of the Man of Sorrows in various ways.
Narrative cycles representing the Passion of Christ – such as the one in Barcarozsnyó (Râșnov, RO) – constitute the first group of representations. It is interesting to note that while the extensive hagiographical and biblical narrative cycles prevalent in earlier wall paintings generally lost their appeal in the Late Gothic period, Passion cycles remained a characteristic component of chancel decorations up to the early 16th century. Usually located on the northern wall of the chancel, sometimes incorporating the sacramental niche, the Passion cycles, evoking the suffering and the sacrifice of Christ, suited well the liturgical function of the sanctuary. With the emphasis of certain scenes or motifs through size or placement, the Eucharistic meaning could be made even more evident.
Similarly, we can find several examples of alone standing images centred on the sacrifice of Christ, taken out of the narrative context of the Passion story. In Marosszentimre (Sântimbru, RO) the Man of Sorrows with the arma Christi flanked by two angels was represented on the north-eastern sanctuary wall, an image displaying the wounded Body of Christ, being particularly suitable to visualize the otherwise abstract notion of the Eucharist. In some cases, the placement of the wall paintings in relation to liturgical furnishing further emphasizes the Eucharistic meaning, as in the case of the wall paintings from Székelydálya (Daia, RO) and Segesvár (Sighișoara, RO), serving as the decoration of sacrament niches, or a Crucifixion scene from Nyomát (Maiad, RO) which, based on its iconography, placement and structure was most probably associated with a side-altar once standing below it.
Scenes from Christ’s Infancy constitute a third group of representations with possible Eucharistic connotations. While images representing the Incarnation of Christ were often interpreted in Eucharistic terms, Ursula Nilgen argues that there was a more explicit connection between Adoration of the Magi scenes and the Eucharist that can be traced back to liturgical Magi plays performed on the feast of the Epiphany. Hence Adoration of the Magi scenes often contain references to the Eucharist. In a representation decorating the north-eastern sanctuary wall of the parish church in Baráthely (Brateiu, RO) the gift offered by the second magus resembles a monstrance.
While hagiographical images are at a first glance unrelated to the Eucharistic cult, they may also contain Eucharistic allusions. While in the case of the Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand (Alsóbajom (Boian, RO)) the particularities of the saints’ suffering recall the Passion and sacrifice of Christ, in other representations we can observe more explicit Eucharistic motifs. Below the Martyrdom scene in Alsóbajom, there is a representation of Saint Paul the Hermit being fed by a raven with a Host-shaped bread. In the southern apse of the Saint Michael’s church in Kolozsvár (Cluj, RO), Saint Fabian is represented with a Gothic monstrance, an attribute that seems unparalleled in his iconography.
In conclusion, besides confirming an evident connection between the subject matter of the wall paintings and the function of the given space of the church, the various ways of emphasizing Eucharistic meaning suggest conscious choices and ingenuity on the part of the inventors of the iconographic programs.
Book Reviews by Anna Kónya
Popularizing articles by Anna Kónya
The nearly 900 copies in watercolour and on tracing paper preserved in the Plan Collection of the Hungarian Museum of Architecture and Monument Protection Documentation Center in Budapest represent a rich source for both the research of wall painting in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary and the history of monument protection. The copies prepared between the 1860s and the 1930s, recording an earlier state of the wall paintings, are often of an outstanding source value in case of a genre subjected to damage, repaintings, and sometimes total destruction. Prepared for the most part during the first fifty years of existence of the institutional monument protection system in Hungary, they also reflect the changing expectations connected to the documentation of monuments over time.
The aim of this series of short articles focusing on copies of medieval wall paintings is to explore the significance, development, as well as the possibilities and limitations of the genre, illustrating at the same time how their study can enrich our knowledge on medieval wall painting and iconography, the individual monuments, and the history of monument protection.
After a brief presentation of the wall painting ensemble, in the first part of the paper I discuss the compositional characteristics and analogies of the Notgottes representation in the central panel. Dating the wall painting ensemble to the end of the fifteenth century, Dana Jenei traces the composition back to an engraving of the same theme by Master E.S. (Lehrs 186, c. 1450-1460). Proposing the two panels from the church of the Virgin Mary in Gdańsk representing the Notgottes as closer analogies, I argue that the composition in Mediaș was probably inspired by an earlier model than the engraving, which would also better correspond to a dating of the wall paintings to the mid-fifteenth century, suggested by the year 1465 carved into the painted surface under the left wing of the triptych.
In the second part of the paper, based on an examination of surviving details and a consideration of compositional analogies, I revise previous hypothetical reconstructions of the fragmentary figure on the left wing of the triptych and aim to more precisely determine her probable iconography. While the suggestion formulated in earlier literature that the Virgin Mary had been depicted here is highly plausible, it is interesting to note that in two representations of the related theme of the Throne of Mercy, it is Mary holding the child Jesus who appears as a pendant to Saint John the Baptist with the Agnus Dei. The pairing of the Madonna with images of the Throne of Mercy and the Notgottes, as well as with the figure of Saint John the Baptist holding his Christological attribute, were in themselves also recurrent patterns in late medieval art. It is thus plausible that, in line with contemporary iconographic trends, in Mediaș, too, the figure of the Virgin Mary holding the child Christ was represented on the left wing of the illusionistic triptych, enriching the overall Christological significance of the composition.
The examples analysed point to a conscious use of the Veronica as a Eucharistic image within the material under study. Its occurrence in the decoration of the sacrament niche, the eastern chancel wall serving as a visual backdrop to the liturgy performed at the high altar, or the chancel arch serving as its visual frame, suggests an understanding of the Holy Face as a reference to the body of Christ present in the sacrament, in line with tendencies already demonstrated by earlier research on the theme. Compositional variants focusing on the act of display (either by Saint Veronica or angels) or visually evoking the host wafer through a formal resemblance may have facilitated more specific connections to mass celebration. Associations with other sacramental themes (the Man of Sorrows, the Crucifixion, or the Adoration of the Magi) could further amplify and nuance the Eucharistic meaning of the sudarium.
The Eucharistic was by all means but one of various potential layers of meaning of this versatile image. While the proximity of the Last Judgment could evoke its eschatological meaning as an anticipation of the beatific vision at the end of times, some compositional variants suggest an influence of the cult of relic in Rome. A recurring pattern fitting into both the context of Eucharistic devotion and relic cult is the thematising of the act of veneration, the sudarium being presented as an object of devotion, with figures of identification providing the viewer with models for adoring the Holy Face.
In the second part of the study, I focus on an image of Saint Valentine within the recently discovered wall painting decoration of the southern chancel wall in the former church of the Dominican nunnery in Sibiu. Besides his conventional attribute, an epileptic lying at his feet, the bishop saint is holding a golden monstrance in his left hand, which is an unusual element in his iconography. This attribute also appears in a compositionally similar representation of Saint Valentine in the altarpiece from Bruiu (1520).The common source of both compositions can be identified in a woodcut by Lucas Cranach prepared for the Wittenberger Heiltumsbuch (1509), representing a reliquary statue. While in the original work the monstrance functioned as a container of relics, it acquired a new, eucharistic meaning when the composition was transposed from the printed model into the media of panel and mural painting.
In the parish church in Ormeniş, a fragment of a relatively rare representation has recently come to light above the sacrament niche on the northern chancel wall, showing a detail of the figure of Christ and an angel collecting the streams of blood issuing from his wounds into a chalice. The composition suggestively demonstrating the origin of the Holy Sacrament may have resonated with the text of the liturgy at several moments of the Mass.
The monumental Calvary composition in the parish church in Sibiu presents a unique formal solution, where the illusionistic gridded niche accommodating the figure of the Man of Sorrows representing the essence of the Eucharist evokes the tabernacle usually placed on the northern chancel wall. On the eastern wall of the chapel of the so-called Marienturm in Mediaș, the representation of an imitated triptych can be seen in a framework of blind traceries, with a depiction of the Notgottes in the central panel. The analysis explores the interconnections between the trompe l’oeil technique and the iconographic program centred on the sacrifice of Christ.
The analysed examples point to a conscious use of the Man of Sorrows and the related image type of the Notgottes in the decoration of parts of the church interior where Christ was present in the form of the bread and wine transformed at the altar or in the Eucharist stored in the tabernacle. At the same time, the case studies demonstrate the formal and iconographic variety of this image type in Transylvanian wall painting. The motifs of the chalice or the angelus missae, illusionistic references to pieces of liturgical furnishing, and an association with other representations of Christ’s sacrifice amplified and nuanced the Eucharistic meaning of the Man of Sorrows in various ways.
Narrative cycles representing the Passion of Christ – such as the one in Barcarozsnyó (Râșnov, RO) – constitute the first group of representations. It is interesting to note that while the extensive hagiographical and biblical narrative cycles prevalent in earlier wall paintings generally lost their appeal in the Late Gothic period, Passion cycles remained a characteristic component of chancel decorations up to the early 16th century. Usually located on the northern wall of the chancel, sometimes incorporating the sacramental niche, the Passion cycles, evoking the suffering and the sacrifice of Christ, suited well the liturgical function of the sanctuary. With the emphasis of certain scenes or motifs through size or placement, the Eucharistic meaning could be made even more evident.
Similarly, we can find several examples of alone standing images centred on the sacrifice of Christ, taken out of the narrative context of the Passion story. In Marosszentimre (Sântimbru, RO) the Man of Sorrows with the arma Christi flanked by two angels was represented on the north-eastern sanctuary wall, an image displaying the wounded Body of Christ, being particularly suitable to visualize the otherwise abstract notion of the Eucharist. In some cases, the placement of the wall paintings in relation to liturgical furnishing further emphasizes the Eucharistic meaning, as in the case of the wall paintings from Székelydálya (Daia, RO) and Segesvár (Sighișoara, RO), serving as the decoration of sacrament niches, or a Crucifixion scene from Nyomát (Maiad, RO) which, based on its iconography, placement and structure was most probably associated with a side-altar once standing below it.
Scenes from Christ’s Infancy constitute a third group of representations with possible Eucharistic connotations. While images representing the Incarnation of Christ were often interpreted in Eucharistic terms, Ursula Nilgen argues that there was a more explicit connection between Adoration of the Magi scenes and the Eucharist that can be traced back to liturgical Magi plays performed on the feast of the Epiphany. Hence Adoration of the Magi scenes often contain references to the Eucharist. In a representation decorating the north-eastern sanctuary wall of the parish church in Baráthely (Brateiu, RO) the gift offered by the second magus resembles a monstrance.
While hagiographical images are at a first glance unrelated to the Eucharistic cult, they may also contain Eucharistic allusions. While in the case of the Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand (Alsóbajom (Boian, RO)) the particularities of the saints’ suffering recall the Passion and sacrifice of Christ, in other representations we can observe more explicit Eucharistic motifs. Below the Martyrdom scene in Alsóbajom, there is a representation of Saint Paul the Hermit being fed by a raven with a Host-shaped bread. In the southern apse of the Saint Michael’s church in Kolozsvár (Cluj, RO), Saint Fabian is represented with a Gothic monstrance, an attribute that seems unparalleled in his iconography.
In conclusion, besides confirming an evident connection between the subject matter of the wall paintings and the function of the given space of the church, the various ways of emphasizing Eucharistic meaning suggest conscious choices and ingenuity on the part of the inventors of the iconographic programs.
The nearly 900 copies in watercolour and on tracing paper preserved in the Plan Collection of the Hungarian Museum of Architecture and Monument Protection Documentation Center in Budapest represent a rich source for both the research of wall painting in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary and the history of monument protection. The copies prepared between the 1860s and the 1930s, recording an earlier state of the wall paintings, are often of an outstanding source value in case of a genre subjected to damage, repaintings, and sometimes total destruction. Prepared for the most part during the first fifty years of existence of the institutional monument protection system in Hungary, they also reflect the changing expectations connected to the documentation of monuments over time.
The aim of this series of short articles focusing on copies of medieval wall paintings is to explore the significance, development, as well as the possibilities and limitations of the genre, illustrating at the same time how their study can enrich our knowledge on medieval wall painting and iconography, the individual monuments, and the history of monument protection.