A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve: Studia Historiae Literarum et Artium, 4. (Szeged, 2004)

Orbán Imre: A Szeged-alsóvárosi ferences kolostor középkori fametszetei

Woman" and the somewhat higher quality „Christ on the Cross". The pictures are relatively rich in symbols and a certain kind of dynamism can be detected in them. Some engravings depict one figure only, while others contain multiple figures. The „Christ on the Cross" triggers the experience of suffering, while the images of pride and greed have a grotesque effect. The mother vs. child setting in the „Sun-Clad Woman" picture has a lyric tone. The soldier dressed in a Turkish style garment, who is just about to embrace a small child, the women tremblingly fearing their children's lives, the conflict during card playing, the usurer's desk, the figures of two men killing each other appear to present us with the events of that time. The lust riding a goat appears deterrent through the use of preposterousness. The hell is depicted somewhat mystically. Our engravings represent documents of the Church's traditional worship of pictures. The images could very well have functioned as icons among the public. They could have served as means for private devoutness. They can be studied or used as a means of praying and contemplation. A believer could take a picture with him, kiss it, hand it over to others. Also, he or she could hope for help, defense, and avoidance of the ill, adversities, and diseases. The imagery provides a dense reflection of the teaching and affect the viewer emotionally. It makes the person viewing the image identify himself with the good and refrain from the bad. The lessons they provide are impeccably correct in religious terms. 1. kép. „Biblia Pauperum" 18