Vadas József (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 13. (Budapest, 1993)

RÚZSA György: 17. századi magyar könyv egy fejezete a Vlagyimiri Istenanya Ikonról

Gumppenberg was also convinced of the simple-mindedness of the Muscovites who were not willing to make statues but painted icons only. "Non facics tibi sculptile" - he says.

9 Nevertheless, Pál Esterházy must have had other sources as well, since works dealing with Virgin pictures had already been published from the beginning of the seventeenth century. "Virgin picture" was a term used both for statues and painted pictures and with such descriptions the authors wanted to increase the respect for Mary. They carefully collected verbal traditions, matching parts from different Chronics and other written sources. All this had an important role in the Catholic countries of Europe, thus the pictures were shown in a topographic system. Such books were compiled first of all in France, Italy and Germany. It is then quite understandable that for a Hungarian Catholic aristocrat, who was educated in the atmosphere of active, ornamental Baroque statues and paintings, the special approach of Orthodox Christianity seemed rather strange and unusual. Nevertheless, Pál Esterházy did not reject the Maria pictures of non-Catholic territories, was interested in their miracles and in fact approached the Eastern Church of Russia which he hardly knew anything about with great respect; he appreciated their "piety... and the deep devotion" which "was so kind in front of the Virgin..". We have to add that in his 1690 book, which was illustrated by cuts, Pál Esterházy did not mention the icon of the Virgin of Vladimir yet but described another ancient icon from Novgorod

10

. The latter is illustrated

11

, and on the basis of the copper cut it can be grouped into the iconographie category of "Bogomaticr Znamenie", that is, "The Virgin of the Sign". Notes 1 Galanthai Esteras, Pál: Mennyei Korona az az Az egész Világon Lévő Csudálatos Boldogságos Szűz Képeinek röviden föl tett Eredeti.

...(Heavenly Crown or the Short Original Analysis of Pictures of The Miraculous Blessed Virgin Pound All Over The World) Nagyszombat, 1696. (RMK I 1496) 2 VI. Antonova - I.E.Mniova: Katalog drevnierusskoy zivopisi. t.I. Moscow, 1963 pp.58-64 3 V.l.Antonova - I.E.Mniova: see above, p.58 4 V.I.Lazarev: Istoria vizantiiskoy zivopisi. Moscow, 1986 p.98 5 K.Onasch: Die Ikone der Gottesmutter von Vladimir in der Staatlichen Tretjakov Galerie zu Moskau. In. Wissenschaftliche Zeitschrift der Martin-Luther-Universitat, Halle-Wittenberg, 1955. Heft 1, pp.51-62 6 I.Bentchev: Zum Verhältnis von Original, Kpie und Replik am Beispiel der Gottesmutter von Vladimir und andere russuscher Ikonen. In. Russische Ikonen neue Forschungen. /Hersg.E. Haustein-Bartsch/. Recklinghausen, 1991 pp.141-169 7 Az egész világon levő Csudálatos Boldogságos Szűz képeinek rövideden föl tett eredeti ...(The Short Original Analysis of Pictures of The Miraculous Blessed Virgin Found All Over The World), Nagyszombat, 1690 (RMK I 1394) The second and enlarged edition of this work, without illustrations, is specified in Note 1. Az Boldogságos Szűz Mária Szombattya...(The Saturday of the Blessed Virgin) Nagyszombat, 1691 (RMK I 1413) Via Lactea ad Coelum ducens. Viennae, 1691 (RMK III 3675) Mennyei Korona... (Heavenly Crown) 1696, see above Notel Speculum Immaculatum. quo demonstratur ... B.V Mariam sine Labe originali esse conceptam. Vennae, 1698 (RMK III 4080) 8 Guilielmo Gumppenberg: Atlas Marianus ... 1672 p.691 9 G. Gumppenberg: see above, Note 8, p.691 10 Az egész világon levő ... (The Short Original...) 1690, see above, Note 7, p.209 11 The maker of the cuts was Matthias Grcischer /Gryscher/ (7-1712).