Cultures of Europe I

Session 1Welcome to Hungary!

Hungary through the Arts

Nationalities in Hungary

The coronation insignia of Saint Stephenthe foundation of the Hungarian state with the coronation of Stephen on 25 December 1000 or 1 January 1001

Romanesque architectureThe Ják Abbey,built around 1220

o round archeso thick wallso tall pillarso small openings

The facade of the Ják Abbeyo lush decorationo richly covered,

decorated stripes

Gothic architectureo pointed arches and windowso tall pillarso thin columnso vaulted ceilingso colourful interior

Interior of the second cathedral at GyulafehérvárEnd of the 12th, middle of the 13th century

Matthias Church, 13th century

o Gothic architecture: symbolic of the divine order

o the spirit strives towards divinity

The Renaissance in HungaryThe Court of King Matthias Corvinus

oKing Matthias (1458-1490), a patron of artomarried Beatrice of Aragon influence of the Italian RenaissanceoRoyal Palace in Buda first appearance of Renaissance art in Hungaryomarble statues and reliefs

The Renaissance

onew relation to classical antiquity → the ancient past, especially the times of the Greeks and Romans

odiscovery of perspective, new modes of depicting three-dimensional space

oharmonious arrangement of shapes, careful study of proportion and stance

o interest in mythology, pagan and secular themes

omonumental works of artLaocoön and His Sons, early 1st century

Funeral Oration, 12th century

The Royal Library of King Matthias Corvinus, Bibliotheca Corviniana richly ornamented codeces

Codex Marlianus, Bibliotheca Corviniana

o the oldest unbroken Hungarian textual relic

o the text of the prayer is fixed: it is the word by word translation of the Latin prayer

o made for people, who did not speak Latin, but had basic theological knowledge

Renaissance architecture and painting in Hungary

Painting: Portraiture

othe art of portraiture became independent only gradually in Hungaryo17th century: depictions of high-ranking nobility

ofull figure portraitofrontal viewoattributes of role and power

Architecture in the Kingdom of Hungary: forts and fortified castles

oemphasis on building new fortificationsoregular ground plan of pentagonal bastions enclosed by four sidesonew castles also fortified: bastions and towers at the cornersounornamented exteriors, low-built structuresoquadrangular blocks enclosing courtyards

Portrait of Kristóf Thurzó, 1611

Courtyard of the Nádasdy castle

Ottoman Turkish architecture in Hungary

o mosqueso djamiso mausoleumso bath houses

Djami of Ghazi Kassim Pasha, 1550-1560 (Pécs)

o century and a half long Turkish occupationo buildings had been erectedo after the reconquest → mosques turned into

Christian churcheso the oriental features of the Ottoman Turkish

buildings were re-established only in the 20th century

o weapons and oriental carpets in the Turkish style remained in use without change in their original structures

Interior of the djami Hassan Jakovali Pasha (Pécs)

References:

Gábor Bellák et. al, A Thousand Years of Art in Hungary. Budapest: Corvina, 2012

Birth of literature, Funeral Oration and Prayer. Retrieved from

http://mek.oszk.hu/01900/01955/html/index282.html

Budapest Tourist Guide. Retrieved from http://www.budapest-tourist-guide.com/

Study Art History. Retrieved from http://www.studyarthistory.com/

Home assignment:

Please, look up the following words in an English-language dictionary:

BaroqueClassicism

Romanticism