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This altarpiece is a special pictorial representation of the view widely propagated by the Counter-reformation and manifested even in works of art which maintained that, since King St. Stephen of Hungary had offered his country to Holy Mary, she as Patrona Hungariae protected it from all danger and evil. In the mid-17th century, the unknown painter of the altarpiece reached back to the picture type of Madonna della Misericordia, originating and popular in the Middle Ages. Yet he intended to make its system of visual references dearer and more effective by applying some modern techniques.
In accordance with the traditions of this picture type, there are clerical and secular dignitaries kneeling under the mantle of Mary floating on clouds. Unlike with most medieval representations, the figures here are not generalized types but individually characterized and portrayed persons, thus it is possible to try to identify them an, through their identities, their intent in seeking protection from Mary. Another modern element in the picture is Hungary's map protected by the mantle. Yet another is the angels' preparations to crown Mary with the Crown of Hungary.
The ensemble of the figures kneeling under Mary's cloak recalls Dutch group portraits, a feature unparalleled in 17th-century painting in Hungary. Those kneeling on Mary's right in the foreground are clergymen led by the Pope (with his back to the viewer); those on her left are secular leaders, with the unmistakable figure of Emperor Leopold a their head, wearing a Hungarian crown here, kneeling among magnates dressed in Hungarian garments.
Certainly, this altarpiece was not planned to decorate the church of Árpás. The likely destination was the Franciscan church in Nagyszombat, at that time the centre of Hungarian Catholicism. It came to Árpás, a faraway, outlying estate of the Poor Clares of Nagyszombat after Nádasdy and his comrades were beheaded. Quite possibly it was preserved for its artistic qualities, for its unknown painter was clearly among Hungary's top artists of the time. Not only was he a fine portraitist but also as proved by the Madonna group of this altarpiece, a master of ecclesiastic compositions, applying the achievements of Bolognian academism.
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