Tátrai Vilmos szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 90-91.(Budapest, 1999)
VARGA, LÍVIA: The Reconsideration of the Portrait Reliefs of King Matthias Corvinus (1458-1490), and Queen Beatrix of Aragon (1476-1508)
anced and dignified. The structure of the busts is reminiscent of three-dimensional portrait busts: head, neck, shoulders and part of the chest are represented, and both portraits terminate in a horizontal cut. The resulting geometrical figure is a triangle, suggesting order and stability. This ordered beauty is also sensed aesthetically as goodness of character. 13 The reliefs follow the Albertian concept of beauty. 14 For Alberti, the beautiful resided in the typical and in mathematically standardized forms. King Matthias' image appears as a detailed and accurate record of his physiognomical appearance, yet a certain degree of idealization is present. While the distinct elements of his face are clearly rendered, such as a prominent chin and nose, as well as his bushy hair, the anatomy of the face is not fully brought to the surface. The flows of the king's visage were corrected as much as was considered reasonably possible; the shallow modeling allowed the wrinkles to be minimized while still keeping the royal likeness. The outcome is an image of the king whose features were ennobled, while his state of mind was not fully revealed. In this respect too, the relief reflects the earlier 14 th " century Florentine-type portraiture. 15 The meaning of such representations is largely connected to the Renaissance concept of virtue and fame, based on antique Roman writers like Cicero, and on the much studied História Naturalis of Pliny the Elder. 16 Portraits guaranteed fame and immortality to men of achievement who were moderate and intelligent, and who thus deserved to be immortalized. The visual representation of excellence was one of the main motivating forces behind portrait sculpture. Such representations were also conceived to inspire contemporary and future generations while implying the ancient belief that the portrait is an extension of a person's presence. This belief, originally connected to funerary art, changed very little during the centuries. It is related to the custom, ancient and modern alike, of displaying rulers' portraits, so that their presence and authority should be felt everywhere. 17 In order to reach this goal, ruler portraits have been displayed in public buildings since Antiquity; Renaissance Italy also followed the custom. Pliny mentioned that in Rome busts were displayed in courtyards, and wax images of deceased family members were placed on chests. 18 Busts were put above interior doorways, in gables, but also in bedrooms and antechambers as Vasari noted, or on fireplaces, in wall niches, and funerary monuments. 19 Jolán Balogh imagined the reliefs of the royal couple dis13 Schuyler, J., Florentine Busts: Sculpted Portraiture in the Fifteenth Century, New York 1976, p. 4. 14 Alberti, L. B., On Painting, trans. Spencer, J. R., New Haven - London 1966; Alberti, L. B., De Statua, in L. B. Alberti s kleinere kunsttheoretische Schriften, ed. Janitschek, H., Vienna 1877, p. 199; Schuyler, op. cit. (n. 13). 15 Schuyler, op. cit. (n. 13) Chapter 1. 16 Pliny, História Naturalis XXXV, 6-7. translated by J. J. Pollitt, The Art of Rome c.753 B.C. 337 A.D., ed. H.W. Janson, Englewood Cliffs 1966, p. 54. 17 Schuyler, op. cit. (n. 13) p. 35; Syson, L., Consorts, Mistresses and Exemplary Women: the Female Medallic Portrait in Fifteenth-Century Italy, in The Sculpted Object 1400-1700. Eds. Currie, S. -Motture, P., Cambridge 1997, pp. 43-65. 18 Pliny, História Naturalis XXXV. 6-7.; Pollitt, Art of Rome, p. 54. 19 Vasari, G., Le Vite de più eccellenti pittori, scultori ed architettori, ed. Milanesi, G., Florence 1896, I. p. 409.
