Műtárgyvédelem, 2005 (Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum)

Összefoglalók

appears today. Mary’s black wrap, for example, would originally have been dark blue (probably painted with smalt pigment), as the colour which can be seen today would have only been an undercoat. Similarly, the black colour of the trees in the background is also attributable to an under layer, traces having been found of green pigment which would have been applied on top. Evidence of gilding also came to light: above the shoulder of Mary’s wrap a star gilded with grains of gold (note, not gold dust) was originally applied to an oil-like mordent. It is conceivable that the halos too were once gilded as fragments of mordent as observed in the case of the star were also found on their surface.

As study and further cleaning of the picture progressed the evidence suggested that a possible reason for its poor condition was that it had at some point suffered accidental damage, and that it was as a result of this that both the fresco itself and its encasing material had been smashed into pieces. Having removed the picture’s earlier plaster encasing material the restorers managed to put all the fragments that had moved and no longer fitted together properly back into their original places. The picture once again comprised an even surface. The fresco was placed in a new, secure carrier made from polystyrene sheeting and steel mesh stretched over a wooden frame. Finally, with skilful retouching restoration of this severely incomplete fresco was completed.

Statue of the Virgin Mary from Tarcal

Erzsébet Szent-Gály Bodor - Dóra Péterfy

A baroque statue of the Virgin Mary belonging to the Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Collection at Sárospatak was selected to be restored in the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts. This particular statue was chosen - it was in a damaged state - in order to provide an object on which practical restoring experience could be gained. It is made of wood, and both of its arms were incomplete. The statue would originally have been clothed, as the only parts of it that had been painted were its head, neck, a deep décolletage, shoes and pedestal. Its carved full skirt with stitched waist had not been painted. Research into the whole subject of dressed statues reveals an interesting history. Until the recent past (and indeed up to the present day in some tribal communities) it was often the custom to adorn representations of the human form with real clothes and jewellery as a way of enhancing the subject’s lifelike qualities. By the Middle Ages the practice had become firmly linked to Christian observance, although its roots lay in the mystery plays that were popular at that time, as they involved the casting of statues and marionettes in addition to costumed actors. By the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries it was already a general custom for women to present items of their clothing and jewellery to figures representing their favoured saints. Richly clothed, crowned and bejewelled statues of the Virgin Mary were, therefore, a typical example of the exuberance of the baroque age, and the fact that the clothing could be changed meant that the statue could conform to the colours that the liturgy laid down for the various festivals. It is considered likely that the

200