Painting at the court of Emperor Sigismund: The Nuremberg connections of the painter Thomas de Coloswar

The first great figure of panel painting in medieval Hungary was the painter Thomas de Coloswar, whose only surviving work is the Calvary-altarpiece from Garamszentbenedek (Hronský Benˇadik, Slovakia), preserved today at the Christian Museum of Esztergom. The altarpiece was completed in 1427, and was commissioned by Nicholaus, son of Peter of Garamszentbenedek, cantor of the royal chapel at Buda castle. Generations of Hungarian and foreign researches have dealt with the significance and origins of this great work, and discussed the likely origins of its painter. In recent scholarship, there seems to be an agreement that the style of the painter stems from the International Gothic style of the Prague court – a style also incorporating French, Burgundian and Italian elements. It has also been suggested that the painter may have left Prague for Hungary at the time and because of the Hussite revolution. In my paper, I would like to demonstrate instead that the origins of the painting style of Master Thomas are to be found in Nuremberg, at the beginning of the fifteenth century. Thomas de Coloswar is closely connected to Nuremberg workshops around 1420, which developed after the completion of the main altar of the Frauenkirche in Nuremberg. Iconographic, stylistic, and historical observations will be discussed to support this proposition, which gives us a chance to re-evaluate painting at the court of King Sigismund as well. Observations concerning the portrait of Emperor Sigismund in Nuremberg and on the Calvary-altar from Garamszentbenedek are also included, as they strongly support the connection outlined in the study.