Mikó Árpád szerk.: "Magnificat anima mea Dominum" M S Mester vizitáció-képe és egykori selmecbányai főoltára (A Magyar Nemzeti Galéria kiadványai 1997/1)

TANULMÁNYOK / ESSAYS - URBACH ZSUZSA: Marginális megjegyzések M S mester művészetéhez

ZSUZSA URBACH MARGINAL REMARKS ON THE ART OF MASTER M S In the first part of the essay we publish an infrared reflectogram detail of Master M S's painting the Resurrection in Esztergom, taken by Professor J. R. J. van Asperen de Boer. The reflectograms made from the signature and the date reveal a significant anomaly The possibility that the date 1506 was added later is considered, although for a reinforced definite answer we have to wait until the restoration is completed. The fragmented sign between the letters „M" and „S" has been considered to be the master's signet by researchers, yet one should also consider the possibility that it conceals a letter (a ligature, perhaps an inverted „R" or „A"). Inscriptions, or perhaps fragmented letters, can also be found on the stairs of the Adoration of the Magi in the Musée des Beaux-Arts of Lille. An examination to compare these has not yet been carried out. In the series of paintings showing the Passion in Esztergom, the underdrawing is clearly seen with the naked eye, but can not be documented with the help of the infrared vidicon, as it was done using iron gall ink. Underdrawings using the same material have so far been identified in the paintings of two great contemporaries of Master M S, the Master of Messkirch and Hans Holbein the Younger. On the basis of a number of infrared photographs of the Visitation made in 1990, certain compositional changes can also be assumed. It is possible that in the first sketch of the composition Elizabeth was looking at the Virgin, while the rondella in the landscape background was originally placed somewhat lower. Hungarian art historians are constantly confronted with the fact, that besides the few masterpieces that have fortunately survived, the artistic production of the various periods is so fragmented that it provides insufficient grounds to show the forerunners and influences and the followers of these masters. This is the case with Master M S, too. The sources of his style are unknown in Hungarian art and his influence on the painting of the mining towns in upper Hungary can not be detected. This is the reason why great importance should be attached to every new observation and information in connection with the art of this isolated master, be it his assumed identification with Master M Z, or the attribution of the Toruri Deposition to him, or the discovery of any other connections and analogies. We would like to call the attention of researchers to a painting hitherto up mentioned in connection with Master M S. The vegetation in the foreground and the character of the „slant-eyed" children in the epitaph panel hanging on the northern wall of the Frauenkirche in Nuremberg, resemble the corresponding elements of Master M S's compositions. The epitaph shows St. Anne, the Virgin and Child, St. Joseph and St. Joachim. The execution of the foreground, beside being reminiscent of the green landscape of the Visitation, also reminds the viewers of the Nativity of Hontszentantal, where the painter depicted the characteristic angels almost in an identical fashion. On seeing the elderly, prophetic features and the bald head of Joachim, one cannot help thinking of the head attributed to Dürer in the Schäfer Collection. The same face also appears in Master M S's two paintings, the Nativity and Christ Carrying the Cross. The angels from the painting of the Frauenkirche can also be found in the pictures of one of the unknown masters of the early Dürer workshop, who is referred to as Master of the Ansbach Wine-press. The Christ Child of the Nuremberg St. Anne epitaph reminds us to the motif in Dürer's Holy Fa?nily (Leipzig) and to the Lille Adoration by Master M S. The Virgin is also reminiscent to the one represented here. The counterparts of Master M S's characteristically distorted faces and slanted eyes, presented in threequarter profile, can also be found in some works of the young Dürer, and also of those Nuremberg masters who were active at the turn of the century. Therefore, we should see a definite stylistic element in the presentation of the faces of Mary and Elizabeth in the Visitation. We find a similar form on St. Joseph's face in Dürer's Madonna with the Butterflies, engraving printed around 1495, and also on the faces in fragment of a painting with a horseman, from around 1510 in Berlin. On the basis of the above mentioned similarities of style and motifs, the three unknown masters - the painter of the epitaph in the Frauenkirche, the Master of the Ansbach Wine-press and Master M S - most likely had a close workshop relationship not only with Dürer, but also with one another. All three of them were familiar with the young Dürer's works; nevertheless, their