DOI Artikel:
Jékely, Zsombor: Regions and interregional connections: a group of frescoes in the kingdom of Hungary from around 1420
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.52534#0162
glass- and stoneware found at the family’s castles of
Kószeg and Csesznek consist of the same sort of ma-
terial known from royal castles.5
In contrast to the study of architecture or sculp-
ture, fresco painting of the Sigismundus-period is
generally discussed in a regional structure. It is true
that the large quantity of monuments surviving from
this period makes this possible. Several régions háve
very characteristic artistic tendencies, the presence of
which can often be attributed to the activity of local
workshops, as the most famous example of Johannes
Aquila demonstrates on the western borders of the
Kingdom.6 A similarly characteristic group can be
identified in the county of Gömör (Gemer, Slovakia)7
or for example in the Szekler territories of Transylva-
nia (the workshop characterized by the Székelyderzs/
Dirjiu master).8 The monuments analysed in my pá-
per, however, do not fit into these regional patterns.
I will examine a few examples of fresco décoration
commissioned by aristocrats in the Kingdom of Hun-
gary during the first décades of the 15* Century.
During the analysis of these frescoes, my aim is to
detect whether they can be related to each other in
any sense, be it stylistic, iconographie or conceptual.
5 HOLL, I.: Köszeg vára a kôzépkorban. Budapest 1992, pp. 36-
41, 83.
6 Johannes Aquila und die Wandmalerei des 14. Jahrhunderts. Beit-
räge der Tagung vom 15. — 20. Oktober 1984 in Velem. Ed. E.
MAROSI. Budapest 1989; HÖFLER, J. - BALAŽIC, J.: Jo-
hannes Aquila. Murska Sobota 1992. See also SPANKE, D.:
Die ältesten Selbstbildnisse Europas? Zur Bedeutung der
Malerdarstellungen Johannes Aquilas von Radkersburg in
Velemér (1378) und Martjanci (1392) für eine Frühgeschich-
te des Porträts. In: Zbornik za umetnostno zgodonivo, 34, 1998,
pp. 141-159.
7 PROKOPP, M.: Gömöri falképek a XIV. században. In: Mü-
vészetťórténeti Értesttô, 18, 1969, pp. 128-147; PROKOPP, M.:
Kozépkori freskók G'ömörben. Somorja 2002 (also published in
English as Medieval Frescoes in the Kingdom ofHungary. Samorin
2005); TOGNER, M.: Středověká nástěnná malba v Gemeri.
Bratislava 1989.
8 On Székelyderzs and related monuments, see DAVID, L.: A
kozépkori Udvarhelyszék můvészeti emlékei. Bukarest 1981, esp.
pp. 267-279- For another, still only partially uncovered mo-
nument from this circle, the frescoes of Csíkszentmihály (Mi-
häileni), see LÁNGI, J. - MIHÁLY, F.: Erdélyi falképek és fes-
ten faberendezések, 1. Budapest 2002, pp. 20-21.
The starting point of the discussion will be another
commission of the Garai family: the frescoes of the
castle chapel at Siklós.9
The Garai family received the castle of Siklós as a
donation from the king in 1395. Rebuilding of the
castle commenced soon after that, and the family also
had the nearby Augustinián church rebuilt and deco-
rated with frescoes. Siklós became the most impor-
tant possession of the family, indicated also by the
transformation of the church into a family burial
church.10 * The castle chapel of Siklós is located in the
eastern wing of the castle, a wing entirely built un-
der the Garais in the early 15* Century." The façade
and the portal of the chapel still préserves details from
this period. Later, under Imre Perényi in the early
16* Century, an elaborately vaulted sanctuary, which
juts out from the eastern wall of the castle, was add-
ed to the chapel.12 The original sanctuary must háve
been much smaller, and in fact, according to excava-
tions, the original chapel was simply rectangular in
plan, ending in the east at the castle wall. The foun-
dation of an altar was found in front of the present-
day triumphal arch. On each of the side walls, there
is a wall niche of rather modest size, each originally
9 The Interpretation of the frescoes of the Siklós castle chapel
presented here was first proposed in my PhD. dissertation:
JEKELY, Zs.: Art and patronage in Medieval Hungary - the fres-
coes ofthe Augustinián Church at Siklós. PhD. dissertation at Y ale
University. New Haven 2003, pp. 236-244.
10 See, in addition to my dissertation mentioned in the previous
footnote, Sigismundus Rex 2006 (see in note 1), cat. no. 1.35,
4.146 (with further bibliography) as well as LÓVEI P.: Dra-
che und Schlange: Heraldische Elemente auf den mittelalter-
lichen Wandbildern der Pfarrkirche von Siklós. In: Acta His-
toriae Artium, 44, 2003, pp. 59-70.
11 For the most recent overview of the construction history of Siklós
castle, see BARTOS, GY. - CABELLO, J.: A Perényiek és a
siklósi reneszánsz. In: Emlékk'ôtet Szatmári György tiszteletére (-
Egyháztórténeti tanulmányok a pécsi egyházmegye tórténeté-
bôl III.). Ed. T. FEDELES. Budapest - Pécs 2007, pp. 81-114.
12 On the sanctuary of the chapel, and its dating to the period of
the Imre Perényi, see PAPP, Sz.: A királyi udvar építkezései
Magyarországon, 1480-1515. Budapest 2005, pp. 76-80, 201-
208; See also PAPP, Sz.: Die Stilbeziehungen der Burgkapel-
le in Siklós (Südungarn). In: Die Länder der böhmischen Krone
und ihre Nachbarn zur Zeit der Jagiellonenkönige (1471 — 1526).
Kunst — Kultur — Geschichte. Eds. J. FAJT - M. HÖRSCH - E.
WETTER. Ostfildern 2004, pp. 197-208.
158
Kószeg and Csesznek consist of the same sort of ma-
terial known from royal castles.5
In contrast to the study of architecture or sculp-
ture, fresco painting of the Sigismundus-period is
generally discussed in a regional structure. It is true
that the large quantity of monuments surviving from
this period makes this possible. Several régions háve
very characteristic artistic tendencies, the presence of
which can often be attributed to the activity of local
workshops, as the most famous example of Johannes
Aquila demonstrates on the western borders of the
Kingdom.6 A similarly characteristic group can be
identified in the county of Gömör (Gemer, Slovakia)7
or for example in the Szekler territories of Transylva-
nia (the workshop characterized by the Székelyderzs/
Dirjiu master).8 The monuments analysed in my pá-
per, however, do not fit into these regional patterns.
I will examine a few examples of fresco décoration
commissioned by aristocrats in the Kingdom of Hun-
gary during the first décades of the 15* Century.
During the analysis of these frescoes, my aim is to
detect whether they can be related to each other in
any sense, be it stylistic, iconographie or conceptual.
5 HOLL, I.: Köszeg vára a kôzépkorban. Budapest 1992, pp. 36-
41, 83.
6 Johannes Aquila und die Wandmalerei des 14. Jahrhunderts. Beit-
räge der Tagung vom 15. — 20. Oktober 1984 in Velem. Ed. E.
MAROSI. Budapest 1989; HÖFLER, J. - BALAŽIC, J.: Jo-
hannes Aquila. Murska Sobota 1992. See also SPANKE, D.:
Die ältesten Selbstbildnisse Europas? Zur Bedeutung der
Malerdarstellungen Johannes Aquilas von Radkersburg in
Velemér (1378) und Martjanci (1392) für eine Frühgeschich-
te des Porträts. In: Zbornik za umetnostno zgodonivo, 34, 1998,
pp. 141-159.
7 PROKOPP, M.: Gömöri falképek a XIV. században. In: Mü-
vészetťórténeti Értesttô, 18, 1969, pp. 128-147; PROKOPP, M.:
Kozépkori freskók G'ömörben. Somorja 2002 (also published in
English as Medieval Frescoes in the Kingdom ofHungary. Samorin
2005); TOGNER, M.: Středověká nástěnná malba v Gemeri.
Bratislava 1989.
8 On Székelyderzs and related monuments, see DAVID, L.: A
kozépkori Udvarhelyszék můvészeti emlékei. Bukarest 1981, esp.
pp. 267-279- For another, still only partially uncovered mo-
nument from this circle, the frescoes of Csíkszentmihály (Mi-
häileni), see LÁNGI, J. - MIHÁLY, F.: Erdélyi falképek és fes-
ten faberendezések, 1. Budapest 2002, pp. 20-21.
The starting point of the discussion will be another
commission of the Garai family: the frescoes of the
castle chapel at Siklós.9
The Garai family received the castle of Siklós as a
donation from the king in 1395. Rebuilding of the
castle commenced soon after that, and the family also
had the nearby Augustinián church rebuilt and deco-
rated with frescoes. Siklós became the most impor-
tant possession of the family, indicated also by the
transformation of the church into a family burial
church.10 * The castle chapel of Siklós is located in the
eastern wing of the castle, a wing entirely built un-
der the Garais in the early 15* Century." The façade
and the portal of the chapel still préserves details from
this period. Later, under Imre Perényi in the early
16* Century, an elaborately vaulted sanctuary, which
juts out from the eastern wall of the castle, was add-
ed to the chapel.12 The original sanctuary must háve
been much smaller, and in fact, according to excava-
tions, the original chapel was simply rectangular in
plan, ending in the east at the castle wall. The foun-
dation of an altar was found in front of the present-
day triumphal arch. On each of the side walls, there
is a wall niche of rather modest size, each originally
9 The Interpretation of the frescoes of the Siklós castle chapel
presented here was first proposed in my PhD. dissertation:
JEKELY, Zs.: Art and patronage in Medieval Hungary - the fres-
coes ofthe Augustinián Church at Siklós. PhD. dissertation at Y ale
University. New Haven 2003, pp. 236-244.
10 See, in addition to my dissertation mentioned in the previous
footnote, Sigismundus Rex 2006 (see in note 1), cat. no. 1.35,
4.146 (with further bibliography) as well as LÓVEI P.: Dra-
che und Schlange: Heraldische Elemente auf den mittelalter-
lichen Wandbildern der Pfarrkirche von Siklós. In: Acta His-
toriae Artium, 44, 2003, pp. 59-70.
11 For the most recent overview of the construction history of Siklós
castle, see BARTOS, GY. - CABELLO, J.: A Perényiek és a
siklósi reneszánsz. In: Emlékk'ôtet Szatmári György tiszteletére (-
Egyháztórténeti tanulmányok a pécsi egyházmegye tórténeté-
bôl III.). Ed. T. FEDELES. Budapest - Pécs 2007, pp. 81-114.
12 On the sanctuary of the chapel, and its dating to the period of
the Imre Perényi, see PAPP, Sz.: A királyi udvar építkezései
Magyarországon, 1480-1515. Budapest 2005, pp. 76-80, 201-
208; See also PAPP, Sz.: Die Stilbeziehungen der Burgkapel-
le in Siklós (Südungarn). In: Die Länder der böhmischen Krone
und ihre Nachbarn zur Zeit der Jagiellonenkönige (1471 — 1526).
Kunst — Kultur — Geschichte. Eds. J. FAJT - M. HÖRSCH - E.
WETTER. Ostfildern 2004, pp. 197-208.
158