Czére Andrea szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 105. (Budapest, 2006)

ANNUAL REPORT - A 2006. ÉV - ERNŐ MAROSI: Sigismundus Rex et Imperator: Art and Culture During the Time of Sigismund of Luxemburg, 1387-1437

edicts of the main characters of Sigismunde reign. Chapter One addressed the heritage of the Angevins, a theme that was an integral part of the exhibition concept and at the same time a surprise as well. Introducing the Angevins, the ruling dynasty preceding Sigismunde reign was all the more essential, because presenting a continuous artistic tradition from the fourteenth century onwards is among the chief results of Hungarian art history and because the Angevin heritage had doubtlessly a great impact on the first two decades of Sigismunde rule in Hungary. It is not simply about the Italianizing characteristics that was a result of the Angevins' origin from Naples (the theory of Hungarian trecento) but rather we are dealing here with a new style of the last third of the fourteenth century, which obviously had a Western (mainly French) origin and it was closely related to the French tradition cultivated in the Central European, mainly Viennese, courts and was connected only to a lesser extent to the Prague of Charles IV. In his summary article Imre Takács has well illustrated this interrelatedness by presenting the last developments of the related academic research and adding his new discoveries on style-criticism. His chief merit was to describe (almost with no exception) the characteristic features of smithwork objects from the late Angevin period (donations of Aachen, Zadar and Curtea de Arges, omitting, however Mariazell) and to outline the most representative artworks of Angevin sculpture (Székesfehérvár, Pécs, Siklós). The next section, "Portraits of Sigismund of Luxemburg", presented the hitherto most complete display of the Sigismund iconography (the Görlitz portrait, which was exhibited at the 1987 Budapest show, at this time was hosted in Prague). Oddly enough, the most significant new results concerned the Vienna portrait that, due to its damaged condition, was not on loan. The contrasting interpretations of this picture (also in basic technical issues) were formulated at the Luxemburg conference, in the two versions of the Prague catalogue and in Ulrike Jenny's publication in the Budapest catalogue. What seems certain is that interpretations had definitely given up its attribution to Pisanello. In addition, dating the picture's most discussed analogy (debated on the basis of its lower quality), the Carmelite half-figures in Prague, became more and more diverse, between the 1420s and the end of the 1440s. It is convincing, however, the dating of the Sigismund-physiognomy to the 1420s and hence the suggestion of Zsombor Jékely, that the portrait might be the work of an artist (maybe Hungarian) who joined Sigismunde court during his coronation in Prague, can be considered a realistic solution. In any case, this chapter dates without hesitation to the period of the Roman kingship this phenomenon that may claim the attention of international art scholars. The following chapter and exhibition unit is entitled "Seals and Coins". This section made possible to follow in details the different stages of transmission between the traditional royal representations and the portrait.