Medieval History
- New Medieval Exhibition At The Hungarian National Gallery
Maria gravida, Vienna, 1409 see in high resolution I haven't had time to upload anything here for over a month - but a lot has happened in Hungary in the field of medieval art. I will try to catch up with a series of brief posts. First, I would...
- News From Hungarian Museums
Medieval and Renaissance tapestries on view at Esztergom Calvary Tournai, late 15th century Esztergom, Christian Museum An exhibition of tapestries has been on view at the Christian Museum in Esztergom since May. The Museum holds a significant...
- Main Altar Of Kisszeben On View Again
Photo: Hungarian National Gallery / MTI Photo: Soós LajosThe main altar of the church of Kisszeben (Sabinov, Slovakia) is on view again at the Hungarian National Gallery in Budapest. The altarpiece has not been put together since WWII - during the...
- Exhibition On Medieval Croatia At Musée De Cluny
Following an exhibition on the territory of Slovakia in the Middle Ages (D'or et de feu, 2010), as well as an exhibition at the sister museum of Musée de Cluny, the Musée national de la Renaissance at the Château d'Ecouen on Renaissance in...
- The Salerno Ivories
I posted an image from the collection of the Museum of Applied Arts (Budapest) on Flickr today - a nice and small ivory panel showing the Creation of birds and fish. I detected from responses that there is some interest in the piece - hence this...
Medieval History
A 14th-century antependium from Dalmatia on view at Pannonhalma
In this post, I would like to call attention to a little-known medieval textile object at the Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest and also to an important exhibition in Pannonhalma, where the textile is currently on view.
The object in question is a 14th century altar frontal (antependium) with the figures of the Virgin and Child, St Benedict and St. Chrysogonus. Previously it was thought to date from the late 15th century, and it was little studied, but recent research shed light to its origins: the object in fact dates from around 1360, and originates from the Church of the Benedictine Monastery of St Chrysogonus at Zadar. A Benedictine donor can be seen kneeling next to the throne of the Virgin - probably one of the abbots of the monastery. The antependium entered the Museum of Applied Arts along with the collection of Bishop Zsigmond Bubics at the beginning of the 20th century. Similar altar frontals - mostly made in Venice - are known from other churches in Zadar and in the region. One of these works, known as the Veglia Altar Frontal is now at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and was likely designed by Paolo Veneziano around 1330. That piece comes from the cathedral of Krk in Dalmatia (known as Veglia in Italian).
If you would like to know more on the altar frontal in Budapest, read a recent study on it by Silvija Bani? on academia.edu.
The Budapest altar frontal is currently on view (after a recent conservation treatment) at an exhibition organized by the Benedictine Arcabbey of Pannonhalma. Titled Saint Benedict and Benedictine Spirituality, the exhibition is on view at the new Abbey Museum until the end of September.
The exhibition allows an insight into the 1500-year-long history of Benedictine mentality through assorted works of art from the collections of the Benedectine Abbey of Lavantall, the Archabbey of Pannonhalma, and other museums. The most significant works of art in the exhibition are medieval liturgical objects, including ones which were taken from the treasury of St. Blasien Monastery in Germany to Carinthia after the provisions of Joseph II: a 12th century chasuble decorated with scenes from the Old and the New Testament, and the monumental Adelheid-cross decorated with gems, which had been originally commissioned in the 11th century by the wife of Hungarian king Saint Ladislaus, and which contains a splinter of the True Cross.
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| Adelheid-cross, St. Paul im Lavanttal |
I haven't seen the Pannonhalma exhibition and its catalogue yet, but I may yet write a review of it, if time permits - perhaps a comparative review with the recent Benedictine exhibition organized in Prague.
- New Medieval Exhibition At The Hungarian National Gallery
Maria gravida, Vienna, 1409 see in high resolution I haven't had time to upload anything here for over a month - but a lot has happened in Hungary in the field of medieval art. I will try to catch up with a series of brief posts. First, I would...
- News From Hungarian Museums
Medieval and Renaissance tapestries on view at Esztergom Calvary Tournai, late 15th century Esztergom, Christian Museum An exhibition of tapestries has been on view at the Christian Museum in Esztergom since May. The Museum holds a significant...
- Main Altar Of Kisszeben On View Again
Photo: Hungarian National Gallery / MTI Photo: Soós LajosThe main altar of the church of Kisszeben (Sabinov, Slovakia) is on view again at the Hungarian National Gallery in Budapest. The altarpiece has not been put together since WWII - during the...
- Exhibition On Medieval Croatia At Musée De Cluny
Following an exhibition on the territory of Slovakia in the Middle Ages (D'or et de feu, 2010), as well as an exhibition at the sister museum of Musée de Cluny, the Musée national de la Renaissance at the Château d'Ecouen on Renaissance in...
- The Salerno Ivories
I posted an image from the collection of the Museum of Applied Arts (Budapest) on Flickr today - a nice and small ivory panel showing the Creation of birds and fish. I detected from responses that there is some interest in the piece - hence this...