NIEKOĽKO INTERPRETAČNÝCH ÚVAH K DONNEROVMU OLTÁRU V BRATISLAVSKOM DÓME SV. MARTINA

• Authors: Halászová Ingrid

Title variants

EN

Some interpretative considerations on the Donner altar in the Cathedral of St. Martin in Bratislava

• Languages of publication: SK

Abstracts

EN

The study focuses on the monumental Baroque altar (1733–1735) in St. Martin’s Cathedral in Bratislava, created by one of the most important sculptors of the Austrian High Baroque, Georg Raphael Donner. Although only the central sculpture of St. Martin on horseback has been preserved in the church, historical visual sources help reconstruct its original appearance. The altar’s volute canopy with a large model of the Hungarian royal crown has traditionally been linked to the church’s coronation function, but is here reinterpreted as a symbolic representation of the „invisible Crown“ – the politically conceived Hungarian Land. Donner’s innovative depiction of St. Martin as a Hungarian hussar combines political, religious, and national symbolism. The dynamic rearing horse suggests influence from classical dressage, possibly inspired by François Robichon de la Guérinière’s École de cavalerie. The composition’s torso movement also appears to reference Rubens’ painting of the dying Roman consul Decius Mus.

Keywords

EN

GEORG RAPHAEL DONNER; CATHEDRAL OF ST. MARTIN IN BRATISLAVA; BAROQUE ALTAR

• Publisher: Institute of History of Art, Slovak Academy of Sciences
• Journal: ARS
• Year: 2025
• Volume: 58
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 87 - 100

Contributors

author

Halászová Ingrid

• Filozofická fakulta TU v Trnave, Hornopotočná 23, 918 43 Trnava, Slovak Republic

Identifiers

DOI

https://doi.org/10.31577/ars-2025-0006