Vadas József (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 13. (Budapest, 1993)
DÁVID Katalin: Adatok a Mária ikonográfiához
Hussite movements, who were given the right to found a church and a monastery. In the presence of Cesarini, the popal legate, both buildings were reconstructed, with the participation of James of Marches who came to Hungary as an inquisitor fighting against the heretic movements. The monastery was ready by the 1450s, while the church was only finished in 1503. The dedication was changed from St Peter for St. Mary the Greatest 5 , despite that any change in the title was only possible under some special circumstances, and was not frequent even when renovating churches that were entirely ruined. At that time, the reproduction of the icon in the Roman church was still strictly forbidden; the first permission arrived only with 1570. 6 Several copies were made after the first sample, among them probably the one made in the eighteenth century, which can now be found in the St Stephen's church in Makó. 7 According to the earliest data, the main altar of the Szeged church presented the picture of the Lady of the Apocalypse. How, in any case, could such a presentation of Mary appear on the main altar of a church that is dedicated to St. Mary the Greatest? One of the most important data here is that the church has only been a shrine since the mid 1540s 8 , which means that this was the time since it was owning a Mary picture of special importance. Several details prove that it was also the time when the chaplains from Csanád, a nearby bishopal residence, arrived at Szeged, together with the Franciscan monks who had previously been guarding the tomb of St. Gerald, just before the first Turkish attack on Csanád in 1550. The only safe place of the area was the Franciscan monastery of Szeged, due to a Turkish command which allowed only this one to carry on its activities. Thus, the sacral values from the bishopal residence were brought there by the fugitives. The museum of the church still preserves some objects that may have come from Csanád. On the basis of the order archives, historians say it is a fact that these treasures were brought to Szeged in order to save them. 9 As it has already been meantioned, the time coincides with the church becoming a shrine; and the most precious object of the shrine ever since has been the picture of the Lady of the Apocalypse; therefore, there is reason to suppose that this picture was also brought to Szeged from Csanád. I would like to add that in Csanád there had already been an altar dedicated to God's Mother even at the time of St. Gerald. The tomb of the bishop was also built in honour of the Virgin. Besides, it is a known fact that Gerald and his successors were keen on delivering a deep tribute to Mary; moreover - and this is especially interesting in this case - the introduction of the cult of the Lady of the Apocalypse can also be connected with the name of Bishop Gerald. 10 Although the modem definition of the main altar painting of the Szeged church has never been accomplished, I had a chance to observe the picture and I put the exact date to the end of the seventeenth century. 11 However, we have to support the presumption that this picture was made as a substitution for an identical medieval one 12 , probably copying the picture that had been brought from Csanád. Some features, on the other hand, suggest that the Csanád Madonna was originally a statue in a rather bad condition, thus a replication was essential. Several data prove that this was an accepted way of saving damaged or ruined pictures for the future. 13 The fact that all elements of the picture suggest that it beongs to the Renaissance
