Horler Miklós A Bakócz-kápolna című kötetének jelentősége
The significance of Miklós Horler's book "The Bakócz Chapel"

Author(s): Mária Prokopp
Subject(s): Museology & Heritage Studies, Architecture
Published by: Pécsi Tudományegyetem Művészeti Kar Művészettörténet Tanszék
Keywords: Bakócz Chapel; Horler Miklós; Renaissance architecture; Andrea Ferrucci; monument restoration; Esztergom; architectural history; ICOMOS; Hungarian heritage; art historical research
Summary/Abstract: The study examines the significance of Horler Miklós’s monograph on the Bakócz Chapel in Esztergom and highlights his broader contribution to Hungarian and European monument preservation. It portrays Horler as an exceptionally cultured architect, researcher, teacher, and musician whose artistic sensitivity strongly influenced his architectural and restoration work. The article traces his professional career from postwar restoration projects in Buda to his leadership roles within the Hungarian monument protection institutions and ICOMOS. Particular attention is devoted to Horler’s restoration research on the Bakócz Chapel, one of the masterpieces of Renaissance architecture in Hungary. The study explains how Horler demonstrated the organic unity of the chapel’s architecture and sculptural decoration through detailed structural and stylistic analysis. It emphasizes his reconstruction drawings and his argument that the chapel and its altar formed a single artistic conception created by the Florentine sculptor and architect Andrea Ferrucci. The article also discusses the historical compromises that prevented the complete realization of Horler’s restoration proposals, especially regarding the original placement of the altar. Prokopp highlights Horler’s international recognition, including his role in the Venice Charter movement and his active participation in ICOMOS from the 1960s onward. The study further explores the artistic and iconographic significance of the chapel’s sculptural program, relating it to Italian Renaissance developments from the Quattrocento to the Cinquecento. Overall, the article presents Horler’s Bakócz Chapel research as a landmark achievement that fundamentally reshaped the understanding of one of Hungary’s most important Renaissance monuments.

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