The book Új kutatások Esztergom megyei jogú város építészeti értékeiről (lit. New Research on the Architectural Values of Esztergom), published in 2022, was the result of studies by art and local historians, architects, archaeologists, engineers, teachers, colleagues and former students, commissioned by Esztergom native Mária Prokopp. In addition to tracing the architectural history of this settlement of world historical significance from Roman times to the present day, this collection also provides a synthesis of what the entire career and professional work of its compiler is about: on the one hand, the specific character of medieval Hungarian culture and art, and on the other, its European embeddedness, parallels and the international recognition of its rank and quality.

In the editorial foreword of the book that was written "In honour of the 20th century heroes of Esztergom, especially my parents and József Mindszenty" [József Mindszenty, 1892-1975, Cardinal, Archbishop of Esztergom, last Prince Primate of the Catholic Church in Hungary], Mária Prokopp explains her commitment to the main themes of her field of study with autobiographical references, the inspiring home environment and the decisive influence of her parents: "As the creator of this volume, I am a member of one of the oldest families of Esztergom, still living in Esztergom. I grew up in Esztergom; I finished my schooling in Esztergom between 1945 and 1957. My mother, Dr. Marianna Stengl, a teacher of art history, Latin and history, was the art historian of the Christian Museum from 1954 to 1977, who played a major role in the development of the Christian Museum into a European museum after World War II, when it opened in 1954. My father, a Doctor of Law, was a member of the staff of the Primate's Archives from 1957 until 1980, when he became its director. I graduated as a museologist and teacher in 1962 with a degree in art history and history of art. After seven years of work as a museologist in Esztergom, I was invited to the Department of Art History at the ELTE to act as scientific secretary of the XXI International Congress in 1969. I then became a member of the staff of the Department and taught a whole generation of students until 2020, with the appointment of Associate Professor and then Professor. I am still in active contact with my students. This made it possible that in 2021, I launched an appeal to my former students and colleagues to reveal the architectural treasures of our country's first capital, the 1000-year-old ecclesiastical and cultural centre of the Kingdom of Hungary, which can still be seen today, from the Roman period to the present day."

"I made my First Holy Communion at the age of six in the chapel of the seminary in Esztergom, on April 2, 1945. At Pentecost in 1948, Cardinal Mindszenty confirmed me together with several hundred others in the Basilica of Esztergom," noted Mária Prokopp in a biographical interview published in the Mértékadó supplement of Új Ember on her eightieth birthday. "As a high school student, I completed a tour guide course and regularly guided groups of local and German visitors in the city and in its museums. I had regarded the Angevin period as remarkable from the very beginning." Although the post-World War II socialist regime did not make it easy for her to continue her studies and develop her career, she owed much to those patrons, who always came at the right time, the interview reveals. “From 1953 onwards, Miklós Mojzer, then a young art historian, was working at the Christian Museum. Besides my family background, he was the one who greatly assisted me in preparing for admission to the art history programme. He even took me into the storage rooms of the Museum of Fine Arts. In June 1957 I completed my secondary school leaving examination and applied to read History and Art History at Eötvös Loránd University. Despite my high entrance score, I was rejected on the grounds of lack of places. I appealed the decision, and thanks to Magda Jóború, Deputy Minister of Education, a telegram arrived on 12 September – during our family celebration of the Feast of the Holy Name of the Virgin Mary, and in the presence of our spiritual father, József Brückner – stating: ‘You have been admitted, in addition, to the History–Art History programme at the Faculty of Humanities of ELTE.’ I graduated in 1962, also obtaining a teaching qualification. Although I was unable to secure a permanent post, I managed to obtain a series of one-month contracts over the next seven years. In 1968 Miklós Boskovits, four years my senior and a research fellow at the Department of Art History at ELTE, defected. Following this, Professor Lajos Vayer invited me to serve, in Boskovits’s place, as the academic secretary of the scholarly congress he was to organise in 1969. After the great success of the congress of the Comité International d’Histoire de l’Art (CIHA), I received an appointment to the Department of Art History at the Faculty of Humanities of ELTE. In essence, I have been there ever since, now as Professor Emerita. I have been teaching medieval Hungarian and universal art history for fifty years. The central focus of my research has been the positioning of Hungarian art within its wider European context. My doctoral dissertation dealt with fourteenth-century mural paintings from Gömör; my Candidate’s thesis, completed in 1976, examined the European influence of the Italian proto-Renaissance Trecento. It is this study – published in English in 1983 – that has been cited most frequently.” Her still authoritative early work appeared under the title Italian Trecento Influence on Murals in East Central Europe, Particularly Hungary, published by Akadémiai Kiadó.

From the perspective of Mária Prokopp’s professional beginnings and the development of her international network, the most decisive event was the aforementioned XXII International Congress of the History of Art, held in Budapest between 15 and 20 September 1969. At the request of her mentor, Lajos Vayer, she became the CIHA’s “jack-of-all-trades”: not only one of its organisers, but also a presenter and minute-taker. The Művészettörténeti Értesítő published, in its first issue of 1971, her summary of the conference, written in January 1970. Even in its concise and factual style, the kind of intellectual curiosity that characterised her entire career – especially in relation to the European stature and significance of Hungarian art – shines through: “The covers of the congress publications, as well as the official congress stationery, were adorned with the emblem of the congress: the drawing of a floor tile depicting the well of King Matthias’s palace in Buda, which, apart from its universal symbolism, is a relic from one of the most significant periods of Hungarian art history, and at the same time an important find of recent archaeological excavations.” Quoting Vayer’s lecture on the symposium’s central theme – the problem of the general and regional development of art, with particular regard to Central Europe and Hungary – Prokopp offered a more detailed summary. Professor Vayer “first clarified the meaning of the universal and regional categories, which in the terminology of the congress, and in line with its main theme, are not opposites but mutually complementary, correlative concepts. ‘By regional development we mean those processes which, as components – each with its quantum, tendency, intensity and quality –constitute the process of universal European artistic development as its resultant.’ Thus, the regional is not identical with the provincial or the peripheral, nor with the local in an art-geographical sense. These latter terms – even stripped of their pejorative overtones, the revision of which would be highly desirable – refer to narrower, more specific art-historical phenomena when compared to the regional category. (…) He then pointed out the important fact that the regional artistic processes of Central Europe sometimes coincide with, and at other times diverge from, the general European development. This difference cannot simply be labelled a ‘delay’; equally misguided is the often-mechanical application of the theory of the migration of artists or works, just as excessive emphasis on autochthonous Central European traditions is unwarranted. A proper assessment can only be reached through a multifaceted study of economic development and the associated social structures. Specifically, it is essential to examine the role and social position of patrons, donors, critics and the audience in shaping individual art-historical processes. And the correct approach lies in the increased application of a modern, properly interpreted inductive method. Finally, to illustrate the complexity of the Central European research problems raised, he evoked the St George statue in Prague by the Kolozsvári brothers, which stands as evidence of a regionally significant artistic development in the fourteenth century, while at the same time occupying an important place among the chefs-d’œuvre of the general artistic tradition.”

This handwritten summary – which also includes a glimpse of herself – reveals that "Mária Prokopp (Budapest) has been working on a stylistic analysis of the frescoes of the Esztergom Castle Chapel (1340s), pointing out their links with northern Italy."

Among the speakers was the world-renowned Michelangelo expert, Károly Tolnay: "Professor Charles de Tolnay, director of the Casa Buonarroti in Florence, an internationally renowned scholar of Bruegel and Michelangelo's art – of Hungarian origin – gave a lecture on Bruegel. After a thorough consideration of recent findings over the last fifty years, he presented his insightful observations on the origins of Bruegel's compositions, together with some new attributions. Then he spoke about the essence and the continuous development of Bruegel's art, his Renaissance-humanist approach to life, and finally he defined his place in the development of art history from a new perspective."

Concerning the results of the symposium, the chronicler of the event notes: “The excursions made it possible for the international scholarly community to gain an increasingly thorough acquaintance with the art-historical monuments of our country. In several cases, on-site study led researchers to recognise the universal value of certain works – something they had not discerned from photographs alone. During the study tours, the correctness of the Congress’s main theme became even more convincing: namely, that the art of Central Europe and, more generally, of individual ‘regions’ can at times be of great significance for the entirety of European art.”

Mária Prokopp laid the foundations of her scholarly career with her major study entitled Az esztergomi várkápolna gótikus falképeinek stílusvizsgálata (lit. A Stylistic Analysis of the Gothic Wall Paintings of the Castle Chapel at Esztergom). In this ‘programmatic’ piece – published in issue 3 of the Művészettörténeti Értesítő in 1973 – she unfolds the subject while also taking into account the anomalies arising from the well-intentioned yet in several respects ‘misleading’ renovation conducted during the excavation of the Esztergom castle: “The Second World War did not inflict major damage on the Esztergom castle, yet owing to the lack of doors and windows the frescoes suffered greatly from exposure to the elements. In 1952 the Műemlékek Országos Bizottsága (National Committee of Monuments) ordered a new restoration of the Esztergom frescoes. This work, however, was carried out with less expertise than that undertaken in the 1930s. The restorer strove to eliminate the losses, and thus he painted over the plaster fillings with a brush; beyond this, ‘in the interest of a better aesthetic effect’, he also slightly corrected the original surfaces – particularly the renderings of faces, hair and beards. On such overpainted images, the art historian could not conduct stylistic criticism. Correct restoration therefore became necessary, a need further compelled by the renewed flaking and detachment of the fresco surfaces. In recent years, between 1968 and 1970, all surviving fragments of the chapel’s wall paintings were subjected to thorough cleaning in accordance with the scientific principles of modern restoration, and the remaining original paint layers were conserved. The image thus revealed to us – although poorer in comparison with earlier states, owing to the strong abrasion of the al secco sections and the cleaning away of the overpaintings – is nevertheless unquestionably genuine. The style of the images has likewise become more unified following the removal of numerous false and misleading mannerisms. Objective stylistic analysis has thereby become possible. The surviving wall-painting fragments comprise, on the one hand, figural representations and, on the other, the remnants of the decorative ornamentation accompanying them.”

This richly illustrated study is not merely a detailed elaboration of the exposé that Mária Prokopp presented to the international audience of CIHA, but also a snapshot of her investigation into the identity of the Italian masters active in Esztergom – supplemented by the most recent excavation results of the time, which in several respects modified earlier foundations: “In my brief lecture at the XIIth International Congress of the History of Art in 1969, while searching for the master of the Gothic wall paintings in the castle chapel of Esztergom, I referred to the painter known as the Veronese ‘Secondo Maestro di S. Zeno’. Now, however – in the light of the modern restoration completed in 1970, mentioned in the introduction, which has made the present stylistic analysis possible – we interpret the matter thus: although our master undoubtedly displays many affinities with the Veronese master – for instance the lyrical type characterised by the slightly tilted head – it is rather their belonging to the same period – the second quarter of the fourteenth century – that links them. Alongside the similarities, the Veronese master reveals fundamental differences in artistic conception, expressed for example in the modelling of drapery. His depiction of garments clinging to the body, shaped with a plasticity following Giottesque traditions, points to the direct influence of the great Florentine master. The ‘Secondo Maestro di S. Zeno’ is a characteristic representative of the local schools of the Italian trecento, who, albeit somewhat provincially, combines the style of the great masters with local traditions. The Esztergom representations, by contrast, entirely lack Giottesque elements. They are built upon vivid chromatic effects and a refined linear rhythm; plasticity here is a secondary factor. The energetic linearity – from the arched line of the eye through the finely rhythmic waves of the hair and beard, to the overall treatment of the figures and compositions – is one of the most conspicuous features of the Esztergom wall paintings.

The decorative treatment of line and colour is characteristic of the Sienese trecento painting, which preserves Byzantine traditions the longest. From the second quarter of the fourteenth century onward, the influence of the Sienese trecento school extended – more or less – to the rest of Italy, particularly Naples, Umbria, Florence, Milan, and Bologna (Vitale da Bologna), and even across Europe via Avignon. Yet the Sienese trecento, often described with many identical adjectives, was by no means homogeneous, especially in the first half of the century. At this time, Simone Martini and the Lorenzettis represented the two most important stylistic currents of Siena, within which significant stylistic differences persisted, as seen in the works of Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti.

The Esztergom paintings, which according to the above analyses exhibit the principal characteristics of the Sienese trecento, cannot, however, be specifically linked to any one Sienese master. Ambrogio Lorenzetti, whom we have cited repeatedly, belongs to a far more advanced stage. Despite the proto-Renaissance features noted, the Esztergom paintings remain fully Gothic. Nevertheless, in the treatment of certain details, the influence of the great master Ambrogio Lorenzetti is unmistakable. This is evident in the curved lines of the eyes, the modelling of the mouth and hands, and even beyond that, in the restrained, simple, and lyrical conception of the compositions, all of which reflect tendencies akin to Ambrogio’s art.

Many connections can also be observed with the work of Vitale da Bologna in the analysis of the Esztergom wall paintings, which we attribute to the Sienese influence common to both masters. Another important component of Vitale’s art – the occasionally excessively refined and elegant line characteristic of French Gothic – developed in a direction alien to the master of the Esztergom castle chapel, shaping Vitale’s style in a way distinct from our local master.”

Mária Prokopp's measured conclusion, free of hasty statements, in addition to the ‘stylistic’ tracing of Italian painters, workshops, influences and parallels, also reflects the art historian's constant ‘local patriotism’, the European positioning of the attraction, creative power and achievements of medieval Hungary: "Thus, even if we could not discover concrete analogies of the Esztergom wall paintings – in the course of our investigations – in the multi-faceted world of the Italian trecento, whose memorial material is also rather fragmentary, we can undoubtedly find the roots of our master's art in Tuscany, in the time of Ambrogio Lorenzetti. Our master, like many contemporary Tuscan, and especially Florentine, artists of the second quarter of the 14th century, was strongly influenced by the art of Ambrogio Lorenzetti, which developed the art of Giotto and the early Sienese in a way that was peculiar to him, and thus paved the way for the great pioneers of the Florentine quattrocento. Our master, a true Gothic artist, even if he cannot compete with the novelty of Ambrogio's art, which was ahead of its time, occupies a prominent place among the many important anonymous artists of the Tuscan Trecento. Beyond the Alps, in Central Europe, the Esztergom wall paintings represent the earliest and purest expression of Italian trecento painting. (...) And if we take into account the Italian-inspired – albeit often very provincial – Gothic wall paintings from various parts of medieval Hungary, we can be convinced that in the ruined royal, aristocratic and ecclesiastical centres of the 14th century, a diverse and high-quality artistic activity, an integral part of the Italian trecento, was taking place, which had an impact throughout the country."

One of the key nodes in the close historical and artistic ties between Italy and Hungary is Naples. “Naples’ relationship with the Kingdom of Hungary spans nearly a thousand years!” In her 2014 volume, Nápoly középkori magyar emlékei (lit. Medieval Hungarian Monuments in Naples), Mária Prokopp, in collaboration with photographer and image editor Horváth Zoltán György, substantiated this assertion. The book, motivated by historical, ecclesiastical, and cultural-historical concerns, while also serving as a guidebook, centres on the pivotal figure of Mary of Hungary (c. 1257 – 1323), of the Árpád dynasty, who was a daughter of Stephen V of Hungary and his wife Elizabeth the Cuman, and by marrying king Charles II of Anjou, she became queen of Naples. “During her fifty-three years in Naples, she played a decisive role in the flourishing of the Neapolitan Angevin dynasty. This is evidenced not only by archival documents and her correspondence with contemporary rulers, most notably the Pope and Edward III of England, but also by the 13th–14th century artistic monuments in Naples that remain visible despite more than seven centuries of historical catastrophes” – as stated in the preface. In summarising Mary’s legacy in Hungary, the author provides a concise account of her prodigious contributions: “she bequeathed significant sums and treasures to forty-five churches and monasteries. For the Neapolitan church Santa Maria Donna Regina Vecchia, in which she wished to be interred, she donated 300 ounces of gold and more than 1,000 ounces’ worth of gold objects, including paintings, crucifixes, books, and liturgical furnishings. She also honoured the Pannonhalma Abbey, presenting the abbot with precious vestments.”

The volume reveals that the influence of the Árpád Dynasty, the legacy of our saints, and the distinctive Hungarian spirit of initiative and creativity can also be discerned in the city of the Poverello: “Even in her widowhood, Queen Mária devoted her remaining material means primarily to the construction of churches serving the glory of God and her homeland, and to their embellishment with works of art. Following the canonisation of her son Louis [Saint Louis of Toulouse, 1274 –1297], she had her most cherished saints painted in Assisi, in the Lower Basilica of San Francesco, as the altarpiece of the Chapel of St Elizabeth. The half-length saints, in order, are the following: St Francis, St Louis of Toulouse, St Elizabeth [1207-1231, daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary], and St Agnes of Prague [1207-1231], granddaughter of Béla III of Hungary [1148-1196], a Poor Clare nun who maintained direct contact by correspondence with St Clare of Assisi, the foundress of the Order of Saint Clare. Furthermore, St Emeric [1007-1031], the Hungarian prince, who holds a lily in his hand as a sign that he preserved his virginal purity in marriage for the glory of God. The sequence continues above the altar, where the half-length Madonna stands at the centre with the Christ Child on her arm, flanked by the Hungarian kings St Stephen [975-1038] and St Ladislaus [1040-1095]. The splendid images were executed by Simone Martini, the Sienese painter who received a knightly distinction at the Neapolitan royal court. This pantheon of Hungarian saints still shines today in its original beauty. The pictorial cycle is an outstanding work of European art history. Artistically, it is directly connected to the Chapel of St Martin in the Lower Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi, which likewise came into being through the patronage of the widowed Queen Mária and Cardinal Gentile – who served as papal legate in Hungary between 1307 and 1312 – as well as King Charles I of Hungary [1288-1342, grandson of Charles II of Naples and Mary of Hungary.], in 1312–13, in gratitude for the consolidation of King Charles I of Anjou’s power in the Kingdom of Hungary. The rich fresco decoration of this chapel is also a masterpiece by Simone Martini.” (Medieval Hungarian Monuments in Naples, Romanika Kiadó, Budapest, 2014)

Among Mária Prokopp’s fields of research and published findings, it has been the art-historical investigation of the Renaissance wall paintings of the Studiolo in Esztergom – and, in connection with the representation of the Virtues, the name of the possible creator, Sandro Botticelli – that has attracted the greatest interest, both in the press and in scholarly circles. Since 2000 she has carried out the work of uncovering and clarification jointly with the painter–restorer Zsuzsa Wierdl. In the media, however, their professional arguments have mostly been met with sceptical or dismissive responses. (For many years now, both laypeople and specialists alike have been awaiting a scholarly, professional debate on the matter, which it is to be hoped will take place soon.)

In their conclusions, the trio of authors – augmented by Konstantin Vukov – wrote in depth in their richly illustrated 2009 study volume Botticelli – Az Erények nyomában (lit. Botticelli – In Search of the Virtues): “As an art historian engaged in the study of the Renaissance wall paintings of Esztergom, I follow their work continuously. I collaborate with Zsuzsa Wierdl in the closest manner; we think together. We regularly report on the results of the restoration work and the parallel art-historical research in studies, at national and international conferences, and in documentary exhibitions. In what follows, we shall focus primarily on the fully cleaned Esztergom wall painting depicting the allegory of Temperantia, making it the subject of art-historical examination. This picture, which Zsuzsa Wierdl has liberated from the twentieth-century interventions – cement fillings, overpaintings and additions – provides a secure basis for assessing artistic quality and, subsequently, for attribution. Restoration research has established that the extant painting shows the composition as it was sketched with vigorous brushstrokes by the artist onto the thin, still fresh intonaco. The picture thus began as a fresco and attained its final form through secco technique. Unfortunately, much of this perished during the 340 years of burial between 1595 and 1935. Yet in the wake of this great loss, a gain has also emerged: during the present, professionally executed cleaning, the brush drawings and compositional sketches revealing the artist’s first inspirations have come to light – unequivocal testimony to the painter’s outstanding artistic talent. The Esztergom paintings were therefore not executed from a cartoon, a technique that would allow the transfer of a distinguished master’s drawing by a pupil. Here, before us, stands the work of an exceptional artist’s own hand! (…) The style of the Esztergom Virtue allegories – now made undeniable through the current uncovering – is significantly softer, more relaxed, and more painterly than that of the Ferrara studiolo pictures. Thus, the cleaned Esztergom works can also be clearly distinguished from the art of the previously hypothesised Florentine master, Filippo Lippi (1406–1469). The newly visible original brush drawing is related to Lippi’s painterly technique, indicating that our artist learned the craft from him. Accordingly, he too sketched the composition with a brush onto the wet plaster, and continued the depiction, which began in fresco, in secco. (…) In all the pictures, Filippo Lippi’s powerful artistic individuality predominates, while pupils and workshop companions may also have participated in the execution. Art-historical research has sought to disentangle the contributions of the various collaborators. (…) The newly revealed original drawing of the Esztergom Temperantia convincingly demonstrates that we have discovered the creation of a sure-handed, great artist, in whose mind a concrete conception of the virtue was present. The artist, who thinks in images, felt compelled on site – when, without a cartoon, he sketched the figure with energetic brushstrokes onto the fresh plaster – to modify his initial conception. Thus, the gaze into the distance, which is common practice in the personification of abstract notions, was replaced by the slightly downward-directed look focusing more intently on the act of pouring, that is, on the very essence of Temperantia. During the meticulous uncovering by our restorer, both drawings became visible. This duality naturally appears not only in the eyes but also in the position of the head. The allegory’s downward-looking head inclines slightly forward, and the contours of the skull and its details correspondingly shift – most strikingly in the drawing of the eye and the ear. This lyrical gaze, radiating profound spirituality, has its close parallels in all of Botticelli’s paintings. (…) The excellent structural composition of the Esztergom pictures convincingly proves that the master understood the laws of perspective, although he did not consider their strict application essential. Such a master was scarcely to be found in fifteenth-century Florence after its second quarter – except Botticelli. (…) The spatial construction of the Esztergom paintings – above all that of the now cleaned Temperance – is strikingly akin to the structural schemes observable in many of Botticelli’s works, especially his early paintings.”

Mária Prokopp substantiates her thesis with a carefully constructed series of arguments, starting from the premise that Botticelli – who secured commissions from the Medici and thereby conquered Florence with his art – must previously have produced, in some “important location outside Florence,” an allegory of the Virtues that established his reputation. “Where, and on whose commission, could Botticelli have painted the Virtue allegories that earned him such renown? This location cannot have been any city in Italy, for none possessed the sort of prestige that would carry weight with Florence and with the Medici family, who had come to dominate the city’s government. Which state, then, could it have been – one that held exceptional significance for Florence? Florentine merchants and bankers had branch offices, warehouses and, through these, artistic connections in every country of Europe. Among all European realms, the Kingdom of Hungary stood in a privileged position for Florence in the fifteenth century, owing to its great power – above all since the time of Filippo Scolari (+1427), who rose from a Florentine merchant’s apprentice to become the most powerful magnate of the Hungarian Kingdom. (…) From the beginning of the fifteenth century, following the consolidation of the Hungarian throne under Sigismund of Luxembourg [1368-1437], and later – during the thirty-two-year reign of King Matthias Corvinus [1443-1490] in the second half of the century – the involvement and enrichment of Florentines through their participation in the economic and cultural life of the Hungarian Kingdom increased further still. Considering all this, it is not surprising that among the many Italians – especially Florentines – who arrived in our country, we find the twenty-year-old Sandro Mariano, known as Botticelli after his elder brother’s nickname. His activity in Esztergom is not attested by documentary evidence, but by the high artistic quality of the mural painting found in situ, which constitutes a proof far stronger than any written reference.”

Concerning the wall paintings of Vitéz János’s studiolo [John Vitéz de Zredna, 1408-1472, served as Archbishop of Esztergom from 1465 until his death], which reflect a unified artistic conception, the art historian observes: “The decoration of the entire room was executed by a single artist, as has been unequivocally demonstrated by the Virtue figures standing beside the allegory of Temperantia, as well as by the art-historical, restoration and paint-technical investigations carried out on the surviving fragments. This painter, based on the above, was in all probability the young Florentine Sandro di Mariano. (…) Further indications of Botticelli’s authorship include the hands, the gestures, the formal and painterly rendering of the drapery, and the painted architecture – the perspectival depiction of the loggia and its ornamentation, the capitals and entablature, and the tiled floor, with its deep spatial recession marked by red and followed by greyish squares – all of which have become visible as a result of the recent restorative cleaning. The sequence of discoveries was enriched by the finely incised ‘MB’ monogram – made in the fresh plaster and thus contemporaneous with the creation of the work – on the wall of the loggia surrounding the allegory of Temperantia. Botticelli appears under the family name Mariano both in official documents and on his tombstone in the Florentine church of Ognissanti.” (…) “Since in Esztergom the fresco now visible presents above all a masterly drawing, we have studied quattrocento drawings with particular attention. Here too we have reached the conclusion that a direct connection with Botticelli’s drawings may be established. (…) It is likely that the new attribution of the Esztergom wall paintings will significantly enrich universal art history, since it explains the meteoric rise of the young Botticelli’s artistic career. The training he received in the workshop of Filippo Lippi had prepared him to meet the artistic expectations of the Archbishop of Esztergom, János Vitéz, the humanist prelate held in high esteem throughout Europe. The successful fulfilment of this commission secured for him so great a reputation that, upon his return, he eclipsed even the celebrated Piero Pollaiuolo. He established his own workshop and won the most important artistic commissions of Florence’s leading family, the Medici.”

In the previously cited jubilee career interview, Mária Prokopp remarked on the studiolo: “In 2017, we organised an international conference in collaboration with a professor from the Sorbonne, entitled Reneszánsz studiolók Európában (lit. Renaissance Studioli in Europe). Twelve distinguished scholars presented on the currently known Renaissance studioli, as well as those whose existence can be inferred from historical records. Among these, the only episcopal studiolo is that of Esztergom. In terms of size, it can only be compared to the papal studiolo of Pope Nicholas V in the Vatican, which was remodelled into its present form by Pope Julius II with Raphael’s frescoes. This is the Stanza della Segnatura, or the Hall of Signatures. The ducal studiolo in Urbino is considerably smaller than that in Esztergom. The grandeur of the room commissioned by János Vitéz reflects his rank and the importance he accorded to receiving visitors. Two years after his arrival in Esztergom, on 20 June 1467, he founded a university with four faculties enjoying papal privileges, known as the Academia Istropolitana. He invited scholars from various regions of Europe, who were not guest lecturers but permanent, appointed professors.” The proceedings of the 2017 conference were eventually published in 2022 by the Hungarian National Museum in a trilingual volume, The Renaissance Studiolo in Europe / Le studiolo en Europe à la Renaissance / Lo studiolo rinascimentale in Europa, edited by Sabine Frommel, Mária Prokopp, and Zsuzsanna Wierdl.

Mária Prokopp’s attention has extended far beyond the medieval heritage of Hungary and Europe. She tirelessly supports and mentors her former students, while also contributing to the rediscovery and promotion of twentieth-century and contemporary artists through books, popular-science publications, newspaper articles, and lectures at exhibition openings. She is dedicated to publicising the work of noteworthy creators, including painters, sculptors, and glass artists such as Nándor Wagner, Péter Prokop, Konstantina Kákonyi, Tibor Rieger, István Madarassy, Tibor Bráda, and Veronika Sinkó. More recently, she has undertaken the comprehensive study of the life and work of Cardinal Sándor Rudnay, the archbishop who commissioned the building of the Esztergom Basilica.

As professor emerita, she continues to serve as a mentor, supervisor, and examiner of doctoral dissertations in art history. Following the political transition [1989], within the framework of the Erasmus programme, she concluded agreements with twenty-two university departments across European Union member states, an achievement that earned her the Hungarian Ministry of Education’s award for “Best Erasmus Coordinator.”

Esztergom’s honorary citizen, Mária Prokopp – awarded the Hungarian Cross of Merit, Middle Grade in 2019, the Széchenyi Prize in 2021, and the Hungarian Heritage Award the following year – was elected to the body of academicians of the Hungarian Academy of Arts. On 5 March 2024, she delivered her inaugural lecture at the Academy’s headquarters in the Pesti Vigadó, entitled Az európai örökséggé nyilvánított gömöri freskók és Torna város falképei (lit. The Gömör Frescoes and the Wall Paintings of Torna: Recognised as European Heritage). In her address, she not only presented one of the most thoroughly researched and central topics of her scholarship but also reflected on the lessons of her more than sixty-year career in art history, articulating her ars poetica. Once again, she demonstrated the parallel development, interaction, and distinctive character of the culture and visual arts of the Kingdom of Hungary in relation to broader European currents – a status and significance that had been thwarted by the consequences of the Ottoman occupation. Summarising the lessons of her Upper Hungarian (Felvidék, now Southern Slovakia) examples and the stations of the Slovak Gothic Route, she observed: “… we have presented a few examples of the Gömör frescoes, some of which were produced in the period of the Hungarian Anjou dynasty and the subsequent reign of Sigismund. The earliest works are predominantly characterised by the style known as the Italian Trecento; however, this does not mean that we must necessarily interpret this closely related art as simply a diffusion of Italian Trecento painting! The discovery and scholarly investigation of the numerous 14th-century mural monuments in the Carpathian Basin suggest that the 14th-century Kingdom of Hungary under the Anjous – one of Europe’s most centralised social, economic, and cultural states – attracted talented individuals from across Europe, particularly from Italy, in every sphere of life, drawn by the prospect of higher moral and material recognition. (…) Michael Viktor Schwarz, the Viennese professor of art history, convincingly argues that the much-debated origins of International Gothic are to be sought in Buda. From the so-called ‘Budaer Werkstatt’, this style spread throughout Europe. One of the most significant Hungarian works of European stature from this period is Tamás Kolozsvári’s 1427 winged altarpiece from the royal Benedictine monastery in Garamszentbenedek [Hronský Beňadik, Slovakia] (today in the Christian Museum, Esztergom), as well as the sculptural ensemble of the Sigismund era known as the ‘Buda Statue Find’ (in the Budapest History Museum). This brings us to the arrival of Sandro Mariano, known as Botticelli, in Esztergom in 1465. He may have come to the court of the Hungarian primate, Vitéz János – Europe’s most widely educated and celebrated humanist – through Bernardo Vespucci, brother of Amerigo Vespucci. Referred to by European humanist thinkers as Lux Pannoniae, Vitéz János took notice of the young artist, whose deeply philosophical mind, lyrical temperament, and extraordinary draughtsmanship distinguished him, and commissioned him to create the visual programme for the Academia Istropolitana, the papally sanctioned university he had founded, inspired by Dante’s Paradiso, depicting the allegories of the virtues guiding humanity toward salvation.”

The indefatigable art historian, who lives in central Budapest and is described by acquaintances and admirers as perpetually in motion, continues her internationally oriented work without pause. Yet her base of interest and the primary focus of her research remain unchanged: the history of Hungary’s Zion, Esztergom.

[2024]

Mária Prokopp

Selection of works