Legelészünk? Csipegetünk? : Egy XII. századi antikizáló fejezetkompozíció eredetéhez

Endre Raffay

doi:10.14232/animalia.2024.1

Are We Grazing? Further Remarks on the Origination of a 12th-century Antique-like Capital Composition

Authors

Endre Raffay

University of Pécs

https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3735-172X

Synopsis

The study deals with stone carvings testifying to the medieval reinterpretation of the antique bucranion motif. A half-pillar head has survived in the royal palace in Esztergom since the end of the 12th century, the composition of which was previously evaluated to be an invention of the workshop operating in the palace, even though the relationships within the composition are wide-ranging, both in time and space. The closest parallel to the pieces in Hungary is one of the chapter carvings from Ghirlandina in Modena. The motivic details of the composition can be linked to the antique bucranion motif and defined as its reinterpreted or misinterpreted variation. Through the compositional variations, the paper explores the links of origin between the antique examples and those of the 12th century.

Keywords: bucranion, Esztergom, St. Stephen’s Hall, Modena, Ghirlandina, late 12th century

Author Biography

Endre Raffay, University of Pécs

is an art historian, associate professor, head of the department of art history. He has a PhD and habilitation in Árpád-period art, and has written a book on the ruins of the temple in Arac and other monuments of art from around 1200. He is also researching turn-of-the-century art, and has written a book about the building of the Budapest Academy of Music, entitled Apollo's Sanctuary. He is the initiator and organiser of the annual international conference on the preservation of monuments in Fehérvárcsurgó. He is also active in contemporary art: he is the founder and director of the Art and Monument Conservation Artists' Residency Programme in Senta, Serbia. He teaches at the University of Pécs (Faculty of Arts, Art History Department) and the Liszt Ferenc University of Music in Budapest (Doctoral School).