Mikó Árpád szerk.: "Magnificat anima mea Dominum" M S Mester vizitáció-képe és egykori selmecbányai főoltára (A Magyar Nemzeti Galéria kiadványai 1997/1)

TANULMÁNYOK / ESSAYS - MENRÁTH PÉTER-HERNÁDY SZILVIA: M S mester Vizitáció-képének restaurálása

painted panels placed above one another, the combined width of the horizontal sections of the frames; and since the two panels, in addition to the top and the bottom frame sections, were also separated by a frame section at the middle, we have to take into account the width of the frame three times. Assuming that the height of the entire wing came to a measurement of whole units, it should be clear that the same could not hold true for the pictures themselves. To estimate the extent of the panels' mutilation, we can make use of the position of the two belts of animal fur, running horizontally and holding the panels together. It is reasonable to assume that the belt-like reinforcement was glued to the panels at more or less equal distances from the top and the bottom, respectively. Placing the panels Carrying of the Cross, the Crucifixion and the Visitation side by side in such a way that the lower strip of reinforcements are lined up, and also making use of the fortuitous circumstance that Visitation is almost complete at the bottom (with only one-and-a-half centimetre missing), it is a straightforward matter to guess the extent of the mutilation in the case of the other two panels both at the top and at the bottom. This method of estimation gives a result of 162 centimetres for the height of the pictures. From that we can conclude that the moveable wing encasing the two panels should have measured 360 by 120 centimetres, or 15 by 5 spans. As to the width of the shrine, this was equal to twice the width of the wings, in other words ten spans, while its height must have followed the height of the wings, i.e. it must have reached fifteen spans. In studying the moveable wings, next we turned our attention to the reverse side of the panels which had originally been decorated with reliefs and formed the main view of the altar. Our work has not at all been made easier by the fact that the panels exhibited in the permanent collection of the Christian Museum in Esztergom could only be examined occasionally, and that their entire surface, including the dowel holes, was completely covered with conservation material. The relief on each panel featured two figures. Their outlines were firmly incised, with the area outside the markings gilded. Though somewhat faded, the gilding on the two moveable wings held in Esztergom has survived in a remarkably good condition. Dowels were used to fix the reliefs to the panels. In the case of the panels belonging to the top half of the altarpiece, therefore, also the Visitation, the two dowels for each relief are found at the upper third of the panels, while in the case of the panels forming the lower half of the altarpiece the dowels - only one for each relief in this case - are placed at the halfway line. On the painted side of Carrying of the Cross we have found a regular-shaped indentation suggesting the former location of a peg. Placed at the height of 88 centimetres, it is at nearly the same height as the dowels found on the Visitation. On the basis of these observations we can now form some idea about the reverse side of the Visitation, which was „destroyed" in 1937, falling prey to the decision to reduce the panel's thickness. With reference to the moveable wings, therefore, it can definitely be concluded from the above information that the technical and structural similarities between the Visitation on the top and Carrying of the Cross and the Crucifixion on the bottom are sufficient to confirm the assumption of the paintings' common origin, in spite of the existing stylistic differences (for example, the degree of elaboration in the execution of details, the incisions and the extent and quality of the underdrawing). The conclusion drawn from observations of the original elements of the panels is further supported by another, piece of „indirect evidence". The two „Esztergom panels" which were part of the moveable wings are strenghtened with two wooden cross-bars placed at the top and the bottom third of the panels. Since these are attached to the gilded surface, they were obviously made for some subsequent installation. On uncovering inspecting the reverse side of the Visitation, we also found some traces of nails suggesting the former presence of cross-bars. Therefore, we came to the conclusion that a similar type of modification had been carried out both in the case of the „Esztergom panels" and the „Budapest panel". A similar method was used to make all three panels suitable for some later installation, which provides further evidence of their common origin. In the case of Visitation, however, the irregular, asymmetric position of the nail marks fixing from former cross-bars suggests that, after dismantling the original altarpiece, the top part of the panel was once again mutilated, even if it was done to a lesser degree than on the first occasion. By that time, however, the fate of this panel had already been separated from the fate of this panel had been already different from those currently held in the Christian Museum of Esztergom. The comparison of the other known panels attributed to Master M S, along with their compatibility with the theoretical reconstruction of the altarpiece, awaits further investigations. On the basis of their dimensions, the two known panels of the fixed wings - the Mount of Olives and the Resurrection - seem to justify our assumptions. A comparative study of their technical nature requires further research, in the same way as the obvious differences in their respective painting techniques also need more investigation.