In the south nave of St. James’s Church in Levoča, there is an altarpiece of Vir Dolorum (the Suffering Christ or Man of Sorrows), also known as the Matthias Corvinus altarpiece. The connection between this altarpiece and the King of Hungary stems from the fact that the predella bears the coat of arms of the ruler and that of his second wife, Beatrice of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand I, King of Naples, whom Corvin married in 1476. It is believed that this was a gift from the royal couple to Levoča. During his long reign (1458–1490), Matthias Corvinus visited the city twice in early 1474 (in late January and early February and in March). His stay in Upper Hungary was related to the Polish-Hungarian conflict at the time and, more broadly, to the rivalry with the Jagiellonian dynasty for the Czech and Hungarian thrones. In 1471, Prince Casimir’s unsuccessful expedition to Hungary for the crown took place. The Hungarian expedition of Casimir Jagiellon’s son was closely linked to a conspiracy by part of the clergy and the magnates against Corvin. In 1474, the Hungarian-Polish dispute was temporarily resolved by the conclusion of peace in Spišská Stará Ves on 21 February. Under this agreement, border disputes were to be considered by assemblies of prelates and barons from both kingdoms. Decisions concerning the long-standing dispute over sovereignty over Moldavia were also postponed.
The maker of the Vir Dolorum altar is unknown. Around 1480, there was at least one workshop in Levoča run by an artist known by name – a certain Jan (“ihannes”) signed the retable of St. Catherine on the second inter-nave pillar from the south. Therefore, there was no need to import works of art from afar.
In the altar shrine, flanking the sculpture of Christ, smaller sculptures of the Virgin Mary and St. John the Evangelist were placed on either side. Earlier scholars saw these as portraits of Matthias Corvinus and his wife. Regardless of these assumptions, the predella of the altar bears the coats of arms of the king and queen. Corvin’s shield, in addition to the traditional Árpád stripes (four silver stripes on a red background symbolising the four main rivers of historic Hungary), a double-armed cross on a triple hill and a crowned lion, also includes the coat of arms of Dalmatia, i.e. three golden crowned leopard heads. In the centre of the shield is the coat of arms of the Hunyadi family. The queen’s coat of arms depicts the yellow and red columns of the Aragonese dynasty (in the second and third fields) on a shield divided into four fields, while the first and fourth fields are additionally divided into three fields and contain the Árpád stripes, Anjou lilies and the Jerusalem cross. In addition, the cornice of the predella features a gnarled branch wrapped in a ribbon with the inscriptions: “Clinodium Mathie regis” (“Jewel of King Matthias”) and “Clinodium Beatricis regine” (“Jewel of Queen Beatrice”).
Levoča, parish church (Basilica) of St. James the Greater, Predella of the Vir Dolorum altar, 1476
© Mykyta Platonov, Kacper Trzmiel / Pracownia Digitalizacji MNK | NMK Digitization Studio
Cat. 1.3
