Madonna of Diósgyőr (before 1490)


Of Dalmatian masters working in Hungary, Giovanni Dalmata was the most famous. He made his name while in Italy in the 1470s when, entrusted by Pope Sixtus IV, he created the Pope's tomb stone. It was probably after it that he came to Hungary. Matthias dubbed him a knight and endowed him with land for his services. After the death of Matthias, he returned to Dalmatia where several of his works survived the centuries.

The Madonna of Diósgyőr is his most remarkable work extant in Hungary. Unfortunately, it is also rather fragmentary, one can only conclude how beautiful the carving was and how rich figures were.

Several works in Buda and Visegrád, sometimes in fragments only, are attributed to him.


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