Mikó Árpád szerk.: Reneissance year 2008 (A Magyar Nemzeti Galéria kiadványai 2008/1)

ÁRPÁD MIKÓ: The Legacy of King Matthias. Late Renaissance Art in Hungary (16th-17th Century)

Italian sculptor: King Matthias and Queen Beatrice, 1480-1490 Budapest, Szépművészeti Múzeum was edited by the great philologist János Zsámboky / Johannes Sambucus.) Also popular throughout the Renaissance period were illustrated editions of Hungarian history. The favourite late medieval history to be given this treatment - with portraits of kings and busy, multifigural scenes — was the Chronicle of János Thuróczi, originally commissioned by King Matthias and published in 1488. Many other books on Hungarian history were published in the 16th century, but only rarely illustrated. The most important of these was the German edition of the great work by Antonio Bonfini (Rcrum Ungaricarum decades, covering the entire span of Hungarian history), published in Basle and accompanied by diverse woodcut compositions. Gáspár Heltai's Hungarian-language adaptation of Bonfini, published in Kolozsvár (Cluj) in 1575, bears nothing more than a picture of King Matthias. It was only in the early 17th century that a new, illustrated history of Hungary appeared, at the initiative of Lőrinc Ferenczffy, the King's secretary. The text was written by the court historian Elias Berger, the narrative illustrations — mostly battle scenes — were by Isaac Maior, and the royal portraits by another artist who worked for the royal court. Later, in 1664, Ferenc Nádasdy, Chief Justice, published the same royal portraits in Mausoleum, which for a long time defined the canonical depiction of Hungarian rulers. Most of the battle scenes remained unpublished until the 20th century; their copper plates have also survived. Few examples of secular painting have survived from 16th17th century Hungary, except for portraits (see below). There is an interesting series of the Holy Kings of Hungary — St Stephen, St Imre and St Ladislas — all on separate panels. Their purpose is uncertain, but there are examples from the first half of the 17th century where the holy kings embodied Hungarian tradition. Even more mysterious is the original function of several panel paintings of the Holy Crown and the arms of the realm. The famous marble portrait reliefs of Matthias and Beatrice, which have been part of the Habsburg collection since 1572, demonstrate the lasting vigour of the Matthias tradition, the veneration of the memory of the great king, as does the so-called Matthias Ring from the Esterházy treasury, made in the second half of the 16th century. There is no end to the list of art objects which have been ascribed some personal connection to the great king over the years. The famous Zichy Codex, a 15th-16th century Italian Renaissance architectural treatise, was purchased as