Az esztergomi palotakápolna és falképeinek helyreállítása (2000–2017)
Restoration of the Esztergom Palace Chapel and its murals (2000–2017)

Author(s): Mária Prokopp
Subject(s): Architecture, Visual Arts, History of Art
Published by: Pécsi Tudományegyetem Művészeti Kar Művészettörténet Tanszék
Summary/Abstract: The study presents the restoration and scientific investigation of the royal chapel of Esztergom Castle and its wall paintings between 2000 and 2017. It emphasizes Esztergom’s historical importance as the first political, religious, and cultural center of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. The chapel was originally rebuilt in the late twelfth century during the reign of King Béla III, whose court maintained strong political and artistic connections with both Byzantium and Western Europe. The architecture of the chapel represents one of the earliest and most outstanding examples of Gothic rib vaulting in Central Europe. The article explains that the chapel’s richly decorated interior combined architectural harmony, symbolic sculpture, colored glass windows, and elaborate fresco painting. Restoration work after 2000 uncovered important twelfth-century decorative paintings, including monumental lion motifs symbolizing royal authority and divine power. The research also revealed sophisticated ornamental painting with vivid red, blue, yellow, black, and white colors that originally created a dazzling visual effect inside the chapel. During the fourteenth century, Archbishop Csanád Telegdi commissioned a new cycle of frescoes in the Italian trecento style, depicting scenes from the lives of Christ and the Virgin Mary. The author argues that these frescoes demonstrate direct artistic connections between Hungary and contemporary Italian painting, especially the Sienese school and the circle of Ambrogio Lorenzetti. The study concludes that the restoration of the Esztergom chapel has significantly deepened our understanding of medieval Hungarian art and confirmed its outstanding place within European cultural history.

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