Hungarian art
Hungarian art stems from the period of the conquest of the Carpathian basin by the people of Árpád in the 9th century. Prince Árpád also organized earlier people settled in the area.
Horsemen in the Carpathian basin
Before the arrival of Árpád several other peoples from the steppe had founded states in the Carpathian basin. The capital of the Huns was Buda, named after King Attila's brother, though Priscus rhetor, a 5th-century historian and ambassador of the Byzantine Empire stated that the capital of the Huns was in the plains between the Danube and Tisza rivers. After the death of Attila in 453 the Lombards and Gepids, and later the Avars founded states here. This late Avar kingdom was defeated by the Franks, and the Avars of Transdanubia were baptised. The first Hungarians came to the basin during the late 9th century.Art of the Conquest period
The People of Árpád in the 9th century used ornamental motifs to decorate both their dress and the trappings of their horses, the main motif being the palmette. This style remained important in Hungary from the 9th to the 11th centuries, and similar motifs can be found in the contemporary decorative arts of the Caucasus, Iran and Middle-Asia.Arts in the Romanesque age
Descendants of Prince Árpád organized the medieval Hungarian Kingdom. During this period the combination of styles originating in the steppes with those of the European Romanesque produced a rich heritage, with noticeable parallels in the art of the Scandinavian Vikings and the Celts of Western Europe. The coronation mantle of King Stephen is a particularly fine example from this period.This king stated that "10 villages should build a church", and though several of his foundations were later famous in new guises, they all date back to the lex Stephani.
Church architecture and sculpture
In spite of widespread destruction during the Turkish occupation, Romanesque churches and other ecclesiastical buildings can be found throughout the Carpathian basin. Fine examples survive at Székesfehérvár, Gyulafehérvár, Esztergom, and Pannonhalma, while recently opened lapidariums at Pécs, Veszprém, and Eger display remains from this period. Ruins of former royal houses at Tarnaszentmária, Feldebrő, and Szekszárd also show stylistic resemblances to contemporary architecture from the Caucasus.Sculptural works from the Romanesque age are often fragmentary. A 12th-century Maiestas Domini relief, the Tabán Christ, is an important example of the influence of Italian and French art in the Kingdom of Hungary.
Large-scale reconstructions were undertaken after the Mongolian wars of 1241–42. Many village churches survive from this periods, both round churches, and those with western tower and southern doorway at Nagybörzsöny, Csempeszkopács, Őriszentpéter, Magyarszecsőd, Litér, Velemér and Zalaháshágy.
Gothic art
The Gothic style reached Hungary in the late 14th century, and continued throughout the reigns of the Anjou, Luxembourg, and Jagello kings. Wealthy mining towns have built them on their main square like as at such as Kassa, Bártfa, Brassó and Nagyszeben built their main squares in this style, which can also be seen in several rebuilt monasteries, for example. The now destroyed monastery of the Pauline Order at Budaszentlőrinci was also built in this style.The most renowned architect of this time was János Mester, a Franciscan friar. His largest churches are in Szeged-Alsóváros, in Farkas Street, Kolozsvár, and in Nyirbátor. Perhaps the most famous Hungarian Gothic church of all is the Cathedral of St Elizabeth in Kassa.