F. Mentényi Klára szerk.: Műemlékvédelmi Szemle 1993/1. szám Az Országos Műemléki Felügyelőség tájékoztatója (Budapest, 1993)

EGYHÁZTÖRTÉNET ÉS MŰEMLÉKVÉDELEM - Granasztóiné Györffy Katalin: A barokk templomi berendezések eredetiségének jelentősége és védelme

Trent. The high altar, through the Eucharist placed in the tabernacle standing on it, became the purpose and starting point of all events in the church. The uniform Baroque view of the interiour is filled with a precise iconographie content. The person ordering the church building in the knowledge of all these could express his expectations towards the masters. As a result of the complete agreement between them could the examples of Baroque „Gesamtkunstwerk" be realized throughout Europe. Baroque art in Hungary has also created great Baroque church interiours, independently of whether it was a monastic, episcopal or a small village church. Although on different artistic level, but they created this harmony between the high altar and the interiour. The distinguished task of creating a high altar was entrusted to the most outstanding masters. Following the instructions of the person ordering it, plan, modello and study were made with wooden, stucco or clay bozzetti of the statues. The technology was put down in the contract, even the materials and iconography many times. The uniform Baroque church interiour, the overwhelming decoration of the altars, their liveliness and colourfulness, illusionism created aversion with the spread of Classicism and Enlightment and both religious and layman were against it. At the beginning of the 19th century almost all the Baroque altars and church furniture were repainted in Hungary as well. In some cases on the altar-retabulum the colour marble painting was replaced by greyish or beige one, but very often it was simply painted white. The statues mainly appeared in the white and gold combination, but often got a greyish colour imitating stone or stucco. In the period of Romanticism mainly the interiours of churches from the 18th century were restored according to purist principles. The high altar of the Pozsony cathedral, the statue of St. Martin made by Georg Raphael Dormer in 1735, was pulled down in 1855. The statues of St. Martin and the beggar were not destroyed but were placed away from their original setting. The Committee of Historic Monuments suggested even in 1899 to place back the precious statues to their original altar, and that the whole should be reconstructed. The National Museum denied giving back the angel statues, so the reconstruction came to grief. At the beginning of the 20th century there was a renewed interest towards Baroque art, which was not always for its benefit. Repaintings in Baroque style often meant the destorying of all the earlier paintings. At the same time the painterdecorators and restorers of this period did not understand the essence of the illusionist painting of the Baroque interiour. Churches painted by them are restored on their original state only nowadays. In the second half of the 20th century the greatest danger for high altars meant the setting up of new altars facing the believers. This is not onlsy disturbing the Baroque interiour but deprives the high altar of its ruling role.