ABSTRACTS

Já nos Fe hérThe Daniel Mansion in Tãliºoara

and its 17th Century Mural Paintings Keywords: mansion, Daniel family, lateRenaissance, stone carving, wall pain-ting, family gestaThe researches conducted by the au-thor in the late Renaissance mansionfrom Tãliºoara (Covasna County) of theDaniel family revealed that the secondfloor of the long wing used to be oneenormous representative chamberdecorated with al secco paintings,completed by 1680. Ten scenes havebeen uncovered and restored since2010. Apparently, these scenes form asort of family gesta, depicting eventsinspired by the history of the Danielfamily. The paintings depict delegateswho present the tribute of the Tran-sylvanian Principality to the Turks, a ne-gotiation/peace talk (?), a farewell scene(?), an equestrian march, a weddingscene. We know that the grandfatherand the father of the commissioner,Mi hály Daniel (†1689), completed im-portant diplomatic missions in Con-stantinople, as well as in other Europeancourts. The wedding scene could belin ked to the fact that in 1651 Já nosDaniel was appointed host for PrinceZsig mond Rákóczi’s wedding. The de-coration is very significant especiallydue to its individual theme. As an ana-logy, the mural paintings of the Cse reiMansion in Racu (Harghita County)could be mentioned (after 1672).

And rás Ko vács The Cannons of Prince Gabriel Beth len

Keywords: princely manufacture, armoury,cannon foundry, Gabriel Beth len, AlbaIulia The princely armoury and cannon foundry(lat. domus armamentaria) known asKen der vár from Alba Iulia was estab-lished around 1564 in the south-easterncorner of the fortress. The first period of

its functioning ended after 1600, due to the destruction of the capital. Ourmostly indirect sources suggest that themanufactory was restarted by PrinceGabriel Beth len (1613-1629) between1618 and 1623. In 1629 gun-carriageswere made for 24 newly poured can-nons. No cannons poured by GabrielBeth len have been preserved to our days,but such guns were inventoried in the17th and 18th centuries in the fortressesfrom Oradea (RO), Fãgãraº (RO), Gurghiu(RO) and Mukacheve (UA). The cannonfoundry operated during the reigns of thetwo Prince Ge or ge Rákóczis (1630-1648;1648-1658) as well, and stopped wor-king after the devastation of the town in1658. An inventory taken in 1696describes the ruins of the workshops andof the bronze smelting furnace.

Klá ra P. Ko vács Between Trento and Transylvania:

Domenico da Bo lo gna and FrancescoChiaramella da Gandino, Two Ita li anArchitects in the Early Mo dern Tran-sylvaniaKeywords: Ita li an architects, Transylva-nian fortresses, Renaissance fortresses,Domenico da Bo lo gna, Francesco Chia-ramella da Gandino, Bu da, Gherla,Sibiu, Haller bastionThe study discusses the activity of twoIta li an architects from the 16th century:Domenico da Bo lo gna and FrancescoChiaramella da Gandino, whose careershad several things in common. Theyboth started to work in Italy, then even-tually they were hired in the ser vi ce ofFerdinand I of Habs burg in Vienna, fromwhere they were sent to Hun ga ry andfinally to Transylvania. The bishops ofTrento played an important role as in-termediates in sending them to Vienna.Da Bo lo gna and Chiaramella were mili-tary architects in the first place, whoseTransylvanian activity, although barelyknown today, must have had an impor-tant impact on the development of Re-naissance architecture in Transylvania.

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Má ria-Már ta Ko vács Goldsmith’s Works with Matrimo-

nial Coat-of-Arms from EcclesiasticCollectionsKeywords: matrimonial coat-of-arms,goldsmith’s work, ecclesiastic collectionGoldsmith’s objects served for noblerepresentation, and therefore werefrequently fit ted with the coat-of-armsof their owner surrounded by a laurel oran Ita li an wreath. Two coat-of-armsplaced side by side denoted the spousesand their common properties; on thepieces destined for the Church thefamily relations were shown. Most ofthe goldsmith’s works with matrimonialcoat-of-arms, which later acquired areligious function, were originallyproduced for secular purposes. Theirpreservation is owed to their religiousafterlife. The adventurous history of thecups from Sântãmãria-Orlea, Albiº, Hu-nedoara, that of the can from Rãscruci,as well as the history of the plates fromGlodeni and Mediaº brings us closer tothe understanding of 17th century ma-terial culture and also gives an insightinto its changes during the 18th and 19th

centuries.

Ágo ta LadóAlpár Ig nác in Miercurea Ciuc: New

Data Concerning the Planning of theGymnasium of the TransylvanianCatholic Sta tus in Miercurea CiucKeywords: school construction, 20th

century architecture, gymnasium bu il -ding, Szekler Land, Alpár Ig nác, Tran-sylvanian Catholic Sta tusThe public education law enactment of1868, accepted after the Austro-Hunga-rian Conciliation, during Jó zsef Eötvös’smandate as Minister of Religion andPublic Education, resulted in manydirectives, such as the introduction ofpublic education, the need of qualifiedadministrative staff, as well as mo dernsanitary and educational conditions.The ordinance triggered modernizationin the field of school constructions andled to the development of new types of

school buildings. The TransylvanianCatholic Sta tus had also built severalgymnasia at the beginning of the 20th

century across Szekler Land, e.g. inTârgu Secuiesc, Odorheiu Secuiesc andMiercurea Ciuc. The latter gymnasiumbu il ding is perhaps the most significantand imposing one due to its dimensionsand appearance. This study attempts toanswer some key questions related tothe planning of the gymnasium byreconstructing its early architecturalhistory.

Ár pád Mikó A Humanist Pat ron from the Mid-

16th Century in Hun ga ry: An tal Veran-csics (1504-1573), the Connoisseur Keywords: Alb recht Dü rer, PhilippMelanchthon, An tal Verancsics (AntunVrančić, An to ni us Wrancius), La tinhumanist poetry, portrait, Martino Rota(Kolunić), Melchior Lorck, AntonioAbondio, emblem, funerary monumentAn tal Verancsics (1504-1573) was bornto a noble family in Sebenico (Šibenik),and moved to Hun ga ry because of hisfamily connections. He started hispolitical career in the court of King JohnSzapolyai. In 1541, he followed theking’s widow, Isabella Jagiellon toTransylvania, and only in 1549 movedto the side of Ferdinand I where he heldseveral high positions. As an ambas-sador of the Habs burg king, he spenttwo longer periods in the Ottoman Em -pi re and negotiated the Treaty of Adria-nople of 1568. At the apex of his careerin the Church he was nominated Pri-mate of Esz ter gom (1569), then went onto become cardinal (1573). He was ahistorian who also wrote poetry in Ita l-i an and La tin and was a connoisseur ofpainters and sculptors of the era. Heinvited Martino Rota to Hun ga ry. Thereare numerous sources regarding his lovefor portraits, e.g. he wrote a paraphraseof the epigram of Dürer’s Melanchton-portrait. His personal portraits werepainted by Melchior Lorck, MartinoRota and Antonio Abondio.

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Or bán Já nosAn “Unlucky Artist”: Aspects for the

Evaluation of Pé ter Bodor’s Oe uv re Keywords: Pé ter Bo dor, sing ing fountain,Târgu Mureº, mechanics, buildingsThe study discusses Pé ter Bodor’s oe u-v re, a brilliant and versatile master, wholived in the first half of the 19th centuryand was imprisoned multiple times. Itsummarizes the bu il ding process of hissing ing fountain in Târgu Mureº andpresents the creations of Bo dor, realizedat various baronial courts throughoutTransylvania, as well as his house andgarden in Târgu Mureº. Based on aninventory, the author illustrates that Bo -dor had theoretical interests in the fieldof technological sciences, while alsopresenting his expertise in hydraulics,mechanics, land survey connected tobu il ding organs and mu si cal structures.The study emphasizes that Bodor’sknowledge had evolved in interactionwith the scientific knowledge of mo -dern Europe, so that it can hardly beinterpreted as a manifestation of anindigenous natural talent.

Tek la Sza bóFrescoes Picturing Donors in the

Medieval Church of ViºteaKeywords: wall painting, St. Nicholas,Navicella, St. James the Greater, VirginHodegetria, Our La dy of the Seas, Im reCzudar, Andreas SzéchyViºtea, a small village near Cluj, was theproperty of the bishop of Transylvania.The frescoes of the medieval churchwere discovered in 1912, but latercovered with plaster. In 2008 only twoscenes were renovated. The first is aCrucifixion painted in Italo-Byzantinestyle. Christ is sided by Virgin Mary andApostle John, and on the southern wallof the nave one can see Longinus and a second person dressed sumptuouslyand in mo dern style, supposedly the do -nor. The fresco seems to date from after

1320, when the 27 year old AndreasSzéchy was elected as bishop. Thesecond fresco, painted on the southernwall of the nave, exemplifies theinfluence of the Ita li an Tre cen to. Itdepicts stand ing saints (St. James theGreater, St. Nicholas, a holy king) andthe Ma don na Hodegetria while bles-sing a clerical do nor, as well as a shipnavigated supposedly by the same do -nor and by Our La dy of the Seas. Theima ge combines iconographic elementsfrom mo re sources (Navicella, EcclesiaTriumphans), creating an original com-position in order to ask the protectionfor the donor’s longer trip to Heaven. Heseems to be Im re Czudar, bishop ofTransylvania between 1386 and 1389.

Hu nor Vécsei“This Life, Created for Artists Alone”:

Ár pád Vida in Pa ris (1910-1911)Keywords: Ár pád Vida, Parisian studies,influence, café scenes, salon paintingÁr pád Vida (1884-1915) was a painterborn in Ma ros vá sár hely (Târgu-Mureº),with regard to whose Parisian stay andstudies – in the years 1910-1911, fol-lowing his studies in Bu da pest – oursources are very scarce, save for a fewterse letters. His works completedduring this period are characterized bya kind of relaxed French painterliness,rang ing from scenes set outdoors or indark nighttime cafés, bearing impres-sionist influences, to drawings withfauvist traits, their approach be ingmostly determined by the directions ofthe French salon painting of the period.The present study tries to offer a mo reaccurate depiction of the “pale pinkwith silver filigree” Pa ris of the Tran-sylvanian artist, mainly with the helpof his contemporaries’ accounts andmemoirs, as well as through the artist’sParisian works, either preserved orknown through photographs.

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