Magyar Műemlékvédelem (Országos Műemléki Felügyelőség Kiadványai 14. Budapest, 2007)

SMOHAY ANDRÁS: Az egri líceum Maulbertsch freskói

FRESCOS BY MAULBERTSCH IN THE 'LÍCEUM' (ORIGINALLY SECONDARY SCHOOL FOR GIRLS AND TEACHER TRAINING COLLEGE NOWADAYS) OF EGER BY SMOHAY ANDRÁS The late fresco by Frank Anton Maulbertsch (1724-1796) on the ceiling of the chapel in the líceum'of Eger suffered a hard fate as regards to both its birth and later criticism. The recent Austrian and Hungarian researches liberated of the biological model and interpreting the painter's late neoclassic style as decadence, point out the objective achievements of the epoch considered traditionally ambivalent. The change can be judged as a progress and not a decline at least discarding the reflexes operating in the aspect of the Late Baroque style. The late opuses of the artist can be interpreted by removing the later guarantee label, dated back, according to the artist's intention. In the development of Maulbertsch's individual neoclassic style on the influence of Daniel Gran (1694-1757), the taste of the Count Charles Eszterházy (1725-1799), the bishop of Eger employing the painter on several occasions could have played a determinant role. After the unexpected death of his court painters, Johann Lucas Kracker's in 1795 after completing the fresco of he líceum' library in 1778 and Joseph Zach's in 1780, Esterházy not being satisfied with the fresco painted by Franz Sigrist (1727-1803) in the ceremonial hall, invited the well-tried Maulbertsch to paint the chapel, the last large-sized room of thelíceum'of Eger which Esterházy considered the main piece of his oeuvre. In 1781 bishop Charles Eszterházy had his first program of the ceiling picture of the chapel accomplished which represented chapters 4, 6 and 14 of the Apocalypses. A very exciting detail is described in the longer Latin version of the program indicating a further improvement compared with the two other frescos. According to this version the figures of the future teachers of the university would have been painted in Hungarian costume on the side board of the choir in the sphere of the viewers. After completing the fresco in Kalocsa in June 1784 Maulbertsch sent the sketches of the opus described as a fresco providing celestial scenery to the bishop and enclosed the tender as well. He could have also had a personal interview with the bishop in Eger and may have expressed his opinion about the ceiling picture painted by Kracker and Zach in the líceum' library. Either in 1781, at the time of signing the contract to paint the ceiling picture in Pápa or on the occasion of the personal interview with the bishop in Eger he could have manifested his famous remark about Kracker and Zach's ceiling picture in the library of the líceum' known from the memorandum of Frances Kazinczy the poet and language reformer of the age of enlightenment. According to Kazinczy's travelogue Maulbertsch, captivated by the sight in Eger, admitted that he would not have been able to paint a picture like Kracker and Zach's. However, the establishment of the fresco became the victim of politics at that time. In 1763 Queen Theresa Maria prevented Eszterházy from establishing a university and Joseph II (Theresa Maria's son) downgraded the líceum', completed in 1782 and functioning as a secondary school despite the fact that it was originally designed to be a high school, an elementary school. Esterházy interpreted Joseph H's decision as a personal attack and as a zealous advocate of the Hungarian prelacy, disapproving the church reform endeavours of the enlightened despot, protected his wounded rights. Eszterházy devoted himself entirely to the political struggles until Joseph H's death in 1790. Ha started to deal with the problem of the fresco again after the consolidation. In his letter under the date of 11

TH March 1791 (see Appendix) which refers to an unknown letter by the bishop dated earlier and containing a new program of the ceiling-picture, he mentions the sketches received long ago and asks for more time to decide on using them. In his answer the bishop invites him to Eger to judge the sketches. It implies that Maulbertsch could have spent new sketches to Eger. After the long process of establishing the chapel, Maulbertsch arrives in Eger in more than a year and they conclude into an agreement 25

th September 1792. The new ceiling-picture is radically different from the first idea with its All-Saints and Hungarian Saints in the centre. June 27

th 1793 Martin Michl, Maulbertsch's assistant and deputy collects the last instalment for the works lasting lengthy as a consequence of the late start. The classicizing architectonic painting, of Louis XVI's style, of the sidewall in the chapel was painted by Michl. The altered theme of the ceiling-picture is explained by Esterházy's struggle against the Hapsburg monarchs.The Hungarian Saints obtained the central part of the fresco due to the bishop's patriotic sentiments and intention to demonstrate the highest level of the country legitimation. The instalments recorded in the agreement prove that Maulbertsch stayed in Eger until 6

th April 1793 where he accomplished the painting of the All-Saints expanded with the Hungarian Saints, summarizing his earlier works on the ceiling-picture of the cathedrals in Vác and Győr. His painting in Eger does not signify only the summary and perfection of his iconographie art but also of his frescos of classicizing style and religious subject, since he could not even start the fresco of the cathedral in Szombathely.