Budapest Régiségei 19. (1959)

ANYAGKÖZLÉSEK - Pataky Dénesné: A pest-budai ötvösség a XVIII. században : a budapesti templomok kincstárai alapján 221-240

HELEN PATAK Y GOLDSMITH'S ART AT BUDA AND PEST IN THE 18

th CENTURY (ON" THE EVIDENCE OF TREASURES KEPT IN THE CHURCHES OF BUDAPEST) A reconstruction of the history of Hungarian goldsmith's art encounters many difficulties because the greatest part of the works of art and the archival material relating to them have been destroyed, and also because the documents which happened to escape destruction cannot, as a rule, be identified with the existing relics. The work of destruction reached its peak during World War II so that nearly all still existing treasures in the custody of the capital's churches derive from the 18th and 19th centuries. An exception is the so-calledchalice of Budaújlak : this remnant of a chalice is kept in the Church of Our Lady at Buda and shows the late gothic style of the 16th century. Hungarian goldsmiths enjoyed European fame during the Middle Ages but their craft deteriorated in the central parts of the country during Turkish occupation, so that its further development can be traced only in the workshops of Transylvania and Upper Hungary. At Buda, occupied by the Turkish conquerors, goldsmiths had to adapt themselves to oriental taste : most of them were Turks or Serbs who had immigrated with the Turkish invaders. No works of art from this period have been preserved for posterity. After the liberation from Turkish yoke, eight goldsmiths of Buda were admitted to the goldsmith's guild in 1696. The goldsmiths of Pest formed no guild between 1686 and 1759 : masters of the craft were licensed to work as external members of the Guild of Buda. It was only in 1759 that the guild was restored at Pest. Most important among the customers was the Church : the major part of the still existing churches of Pest was erected at that time, and the devastation wrought by the Turks necessitated a replacement of the liturgical equipment everywhere. Another important customer was the class of the bourgeoisie whose members were growing wealthy after the expulsion of the Turks. The heads of the revived guild of Pest were mostly master goldsmiths who had immigrated from Austria and Bohemia ; they were genuine artists, and their works of art soon surpassed the products not only of the masters of Buda but those of all historical centres of the Hungarian goldsmith's art. The masters of Pest adapted themselves to Hungarian taste and their later products revealed Hungarian national motifs, as witness the works of József Szentpéteri in the first half of the 19th century. Their products achieved fame both in and outside Hungary. The baroque chalice and garland from the middle of the 18th century, now in the possession of the St. Anne church at Buda, shows instructively how easily also the Serbian goldsmiths of Buda adapted themselves to West European trends of style after the Turkish occupation. János M. Puchmayer, János Benyó and Márton Lubisich were the most prominent goldsmiths of Buda in the middle of the 18th century. Sacred vessels, now in the custody of the St. Anne church at Buda, the products of János Benyó (1740—1758), demonstrate the exquisite art of this baroque master. (It is to be noted that the numbers shown in brackets after the name of this artist as well as after that of other artists quoted in this article indicate the first and the last year in which the artist's name appears in the register of the guild of Buda or Pest.) Among the most noteworthy creations of János M. Puchmayer (1746—1778), this prominent master of rococo art, are an altar-cruet tray from 1763 and a chalice from about 1765 adorned with the embossed images of Jesuit saints ; both pieces are now in the St. Anne church at Buda. This master reached the peak of his art in the rococo chalice which is now kept in the church of Budaújlak. This colour-enamelled piece, made in 1769, shows the rococo style and is adorned with scenes from the New Testament. Puchmayer modelled his works of art after Austrian patterns. It was likewise in 1769 that he made a well-proportioned silver incense boat, alsóin the custody of the church of Budaújlak. A rococo sanctuary lamp, adorned with Biblical scenes, made in 1767 and kept now in the church of Budaújlak, the sole known creation of another famous master, Márton Lubisich (1750—1790), belongs to the most exquisite pieces made by baroque goldsmiths at Buda. His son, Imre Lubisich (1768—1830), a noted representative of the Louis XVI-style was also a gifted artist as witness a thurible made towards the end of the 18th century and kept now in the Tabán Parish Church, further a crucifix made about 1810 and kept now in the church of Budaújlak. That the members of the guild of Pest, revived in 1759, disciples of Austrian — principally Viennese — masters, also reached a high artistic level is revealed by the treasures of the churches at Pest. The earliest known such piece is a beautiful rococo chalice decorated with scenes from the life of St. Francis worked in high relief ; it is the work of József Fauser (1751—1762) and is now in the possession of the Franciscan church in the Mártírok 239