Medieval and Renaissance Plaster Casts
Online Database of the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts’ Cast Collection
by Miriam Szőcs, Márton Tóth and Zsófia Vargyas
Introduction
Established in 1896, the Museum of Fine Arts inherited a rich collection of paintings and a smaller collection of statues from its predecessor, the National Picture Gallery. Alongside its paintings, following the usual practice at the time, the museum planned to present the history of sculpture by means of plaster casts of the famous works rather than through the display of original works. The museum’s intention was to display the plaster casts in the large halls on the ground floor of the building. Whereas a part of the casts of classical antiquities came from the National Museum, three hundred or so plaster casts of medieval and Renaissance artworks were ordered by the museum from foreign casting workshops between 1903 and 1912. These casts were exhibited in the building’s Renaissance and Romanesque Halls. In the 1920s and 1930s, due to changing trends, the perceived value of the plaster casts declined. As a result, they were poorly cared for during World War II. The damaged plaster casts were squeezed into the Romanesque Hall and stored under poor conditions for more than seventy years. Meanwhile a part of the plaster casts was lent to institutions in the countryside. The rehabilitation of the collection began in 2015 with the restoration of the plaster casts and resulted in exhibitions that present major parts of the cast collection in the Star Fortress of Komárom and in the visible storage of the National Museum Conservation and Storage Centre in Budapest. Unfortunately, several casts have been lost or destroyed during the long decades of negligence. The present database comprise the complete collection of medieval and Renaissance casts, even including those that cannot be traced anymore.
Highlights
![Main view of the artwork](https://gipszek.szepmuveszeti.hu/images/215194/215194.jpg)
The Golden Gate of Freiberg Cathedral
Saxon Sculptor, Albertinum (cast maker)
![Main view of the artwork](https://gipszek.szepmuveszeti.hu/images/258318/258318.jpg)
Uta, Wife of Ekkehard II, Margrave of Meissen
Naumburg Master, August Gerber (cast maker)
![Main view of the artwork](https://gipszek.szepmuveszeti.hu/images/258281/258281.jpg)
Ecclesia
Master of the Southern Transept of Strasbourg Cathedral, Casting Workshop of the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum (cast maker)
![Main view of the artwork](https://gipszek.szepmuveszeti.hu/images/258274/258274.jpg)
Synagoga
Master of the Southern Transept of Strasbourg Cathedral, Casting Workshop of the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum (cast maker)
![Main view of the artwork](https://gipszek.szepmuveszeti.hu/images/338284/338284.jpg)
Relief on the Municipal Weighing House
Adam Kraft, Johann Göschel (cast maker)
![Main view of the artwork](https://gipszek.szepmuveszeti.hu/images/293239/293239.jpg)
Fragment of a Frame
Unknown Sculptor (copy), Zsolnay Porcelain Manufactory (cast maker)
![Main view of the artwork](https://gipszek.szepmuveszeti.hu/images/218552/218552.jpg)
Saint Joseph
French Sculptor, August Gerber (cast maker)
![Main view of the artwork](https://gipszek.szepmuveszeti.hu/images/330304/330304.jpg)
Pulpit
Nicola Pisano, Casting Workshop of the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum (cast maker)
![Main view of the artwork](https://gipszek.szepmuveszeti.hu/images/213188/213188.jpg)
Agriculture
Andrea Pisano, Giotto (previous attribution), Giuseppe Lelli (cast maker)
![Main view of the artwork](https://gipszek.szepmuveszeti.hu/images/255125/255125.jpg)
Gattemelata
Donatello, Michele Gherardi (cast maker)
![Main view of the artwork](https://gipszek.szepmuveszeti.hu/images/330298/330298.jpg)
Paschal Candlestick
Riccio , Carlo Campi (cast maker)
![Main view of the artwork](https://gipszek.szepmuveszeti.hu/images/321767/321767.jpg)
Saint Eligius
Nanni di Banco, Giuseppe Lelli (cast maker)
![Main view of the artwork](https://gipszek.szepmuveszeti.hu/images/330299/330299.jpg)
Tomb of Ilaria de Carretto
Jacopo della Quercia, Giuseppe Lelli (cast maker)
![Main view of the artwork](https://gipszek.szepmuveszeti.hu/images/330300/330300.jpg)
Baptismal Font
Jacopo della Quercia, Casting Workshop of the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum (cast maker)
![Main view of the artwork](https://gipszek.szepmuveszeti.hu/images/330240/330240.jpg)
Visitation
Luca della Robbia, Giuseppe Lelli (cast maker)
![Main view of the artwork](https://gipszek.szepmuveszeti.hu/images/330244/330244.jpg)
Monument to Carlo Marsuppini
Desiderio da Settignano, Giuseppe Lelli (cast maker)
![Main view of the artwork](https://gipszek.szepmuveszeti.hu/images/330243/330243.jpg)
Equestrian Statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni
Andrea del Verrocchio, Casting Workshop of the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum (cast maker)
![Main view of the artwork](https://gipszek.szepmuveszeti.hu/images/234018/234018.jpg)
David-Apollo
Michelangelo Buonarroti, Casting Workshop of the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum (cast maker)
![Main view of the artwork](https://gipszek.szepmuveszeti.hu/images/330268/330268.jpg)
Dying Adonis
Vincenzo de' Rossi, Michelangelo Buonarroti (previous attribution), Casting Workshop of the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum (cast maker)