Bardoly István - Cs. Plank Ibolya szerk.: A „szentek fuvarosa” Divald Kornél felső-magyarországi topográfiája és fényképei 1900-1919. (Forráskiadványok Budapest, 1999)

ABSTRACT

became highly popular in contrast to the graphic prints that had been until then. The Felvidékcounties were among the first where, in the 1860s and'70s, mass tourism and bathing resort culture developed, animating local tourism, and, with its novelty and modernity brought about not only considerable changes in the area's way of life but also the introduction of new trades, including photography. The social and professional rise of Károly Divald Sen. was in part due to these changes. The photographic ateliers and printing offices founded by him in Eperjes, Bártfafürdő and Budapest, under the name of "Károly Divald and Sons" ("Divald Károly és Fiai") worked efficiently and successfully up until the 1940s. The commitment of the Divalds to the documentation of Hungarian historic monuments is far from being negligible. After having produced a number of rewarding publications, in 1882 Károly Divald Sen. wanted to start publishing a series of books on the artistic heritage of the Felvidék. Unfortunately, due to the indifference of scientific circles and the lack of a sufficient number of subscribers he could not carry out this plan. Twenty five years later, his youngest son, Kornél, being a member of the MOB and the "National Superintendence of Museums and Libraries" ("Múzeumok és Könyvtárak Országos Főfelügyelősége") and, from 1911 being a corresponding member of the Hungarian National Academy of Sciences, made a name for himself as a researcher of the Renaissance architecture and mediaeval art of the Felvidék. He was also the author of several books and articles on the same topic. Kornél Divald had finished his secondary school studies in his home town, Eperjes. After that, in 1890, he became a student at the Hungarian Royal University of Arts and Sciences, in the Faculty of Medicine. However, due to his hearing impairment he had to change, so between 18911895 he continued his studies in the faculty of arts, at the departments of aesthetics, literature, archaeology and history of art. An interesting part of his life, and one that is present all through it, is his engagement with belles-lettres. In the beginning he wrote articles for local papers and Budapest dailies on the history of art and aesthetics, under the pen-names Tarczai György and Cornélius. Between 1895 and 1905 he was writing mainly for the "Hungarian Review" ("Magyar Szemle"), and between 1900 and 1930 for the "Catholic Review" ("Katolikus Szemle"). He had travelled around Europe several times, but these journeys meant for him inspiration mainly in the field of art history. His writings can easily be classified into two groups: belles-lettres and works on history of art. However, this was not just an arbitrary a parallelism; in many cases an interdependence and mutualinfluence are obvious. In 1904, while he was writing an article on the protection of objects of art in church use entitled "Treasures of Art Going to be Lost" ("Veszendő műkincsek"), he received a literary award for his work titled "The Legend of St. Margaret" ("Szent Margit legendáskönyve"), which appeared simultaneously. It adds a special value to his novels and short stories, which revived historic scenes and characters based on data he himself uncovered applying, the results of his research in art history. As an example, in 1916, while he was photographing and working scientifically on the historic monuments of Sáros county, he was simultaneously working with the same intensity on his next novel, collecting for it the necessary data of the history of the age. The importance of his descriptions of historic monuments as a primary source is due to the fact that he described relics of such regions about which no comprehensive and derailed survey had so far been available. He was the last Hungarian researcher who could, in this region of the country, see and document such relics and works of art still in use, in their original surroundings and proper environment; objects which have since either become treasured items of museums, or have gone forever. There are many buildings, with their interiors and associated objects, which we now know thanks only to his publications and the one you are holding in your hand. In accordance with the attitude of his age, his interest was concentrated mainly on mediaeval and renaissance relics, and the so-called Renaissance buildings with battlements. He only very rarely dealt with heritage from the baroque and the neo-classical periods. He not only searched the buildings practically from the cellar to the loft, but also described in detail the individual items of the interior piece by piece, providing data about their sizes, technology of making, and iconography. However, it is also a fact that his main interest was concentrated on winged altars. He devoted several longer pieces of writing to the topic. Without his work research in this field would be almost unthinkable, despite of the fact that some of his statements have since been proved be wrong. In our times the role of photography in monument preservation is obvious and taking photos is quite a natural thing, but in Divald's time it was not yet so. However, while he was recording the historic monuments, he had to describe so many well known and less known objects and buildings that the thorough study, documenting and publishing of them could not have been done without quality photos. In 1901 he was first requested by the MOB to visit and study the Renaissance heritage of the Felvidék, and make a register consisting of a few lines on each building. Two years later, commissioned by the "Historic Society of Szepes' {"Szepesi TÖrténelmiTársulat"), he undertook to photograph and write a monograph on the relics of works of art in the Szepesség. Already by the first year his employers emphasised the importance of photographic illustrations beside the written text. He was expected to write descriptions referring to the photos and prints in a concise and exact way. Finally, the book Szepes Megye Művészeti Emlékei (The Relics of Works