UNKNOWN RENAISSANCE MASTER, sculptor
(16th century)

Madonna of András Báthory

1526
Limestone, 68 x 51 cm
Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest

In the former St. George's Church in Nyíbátor, there are number of works to illustrate the broad area of interest of the Báthory family's art patronage. The inscription of András Báthory's Virgin and Child reveals not only the name of the donor and the date of origin - 1526, a tragic date in Hungarian history, the year of the Battle of Mohács -, but it also indicates that the marble relief was probably meant to be displayed above the entrance of either the church or the chapel.

The tabernacle of the Church of Nyírbátor was an early work of the same master, and the Renaissance sedile there was probably also made in the same workshop. The relief is one of the most characteristic examples of Hungarian Renaissance art, providing a new interpretation of a popular Madonna-type from Florence. The marble relief is framed by an ornamental motif popular in Renaissance architecture, which acts to provide the illusion that the Madonna is looking down on the viewer from an open window.


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