Kárpáti Zoltán - Liptay Éva - Varga Ágota szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 101. (Budapest, 2004)
ANNUAL REPORT 2004 - A 2004. ÉV - PERMANENT EXHIBITIONS - ÁLLANDÓ KIÁLLÍTÁSOK - ILDIKÓ EMBER, ESZTER FABRY, AND ANNAMÁRIA GOSZTOLA: New Permanent Exhibition of the Old Masters' Gallery
53. A detail of the two German halls saints; five panels depicting the martyrdoms of the apostles, attributed to the Master of the Winkler-Epitaph, deriving from the Wiener-Neustadt Cathedral; and four panels from the great altar by Leonhard von Brixen devoted to the Life of the Virgin. Naturally, the method by which we arranged the related pieces intends in no way to be an attempt at reconstruction. Hans Holbein the Elder's picture of The Dormition of the Virgin, to the left of the entrance, which is considered the painter's first masterpiece, is on view by itself, highlighting its significance. We devoted the other two walls of the large hall to the great masters of the Renaissance. On the long wall, aside from the Crucifixion painted by Anton Woensam just one year prior to his death, it is only Lucas Cranach the Elder, and the pieces of his workshop that are featured, on the one hand, on the grounds of the importance of the master; on the other hand, to allow for the greatest wealth of the collection. Facing the entrance, the visitor is received by Hans Baldung Grien's nude pair, his monumental depiction of Adam and Eve, which also concludes the presentation of German Renaissance painting (fig. 53). Or more precisely, in chronological terms, this is where we connect with the third cabinet, number 14, where we have accumulated a bouquet of the works of Dürer and his contemporaries. Baldung Grien's Mater Dolorosa has been placed at the central axis of the cabinet, with sacred compositions to its right and left, including Albrecht Altdorfer's Crucifixion and Madonna, along with Jörg Breu's Elevation of the Cross. Secular paintings are arranged along the two side-walls: alongside Diirer's wellknown Portrait of a Young Man, Barthel Bruyn the Elder's portrait of Petrus von Clapis, and Cranach the Elder's Ill-Matched Couple. On the facing side, Altdorfer's fragment of a fresco depicting a Loving Couple and the pair of portraits by an unknown Swabian painter are on view. 4 4 In connection with the placement of the Early German pictures, we also asked for the advice of Zsuzsa Urbach, whom we would also like to thank here for her kind assistance.
