Transylvania. Gothic Murals

Transylvania was the easternmost limit at which the styles of the Western Middle Ages manifested themselves in an organic way, excepting isolated instances that allowed the penetration of artistic forms from Europe into the Near East during the Crusades. In this region where the major mediaeval cultures met, the circulation of wandering craftsmen, following the main trade routes, ensured the diffusion of artistic forms, contributing to the configuration of local stylistic data. We encounter the masters of old Transylvanian art in documents from Vienna, Nuremberg and Rome, while signed pieces, written mentions and evidence of a stylistic order attests that artists from Austria, South Germany or Italy worked here. From this viewpoint, Transylvanian Gothic painting emerges both as a creation of native craftsmen, sometimes trained in major European artistic centres, and of itinerant masters, the propagators of major trends, while the differing aesthetic level of the works reflects, as elsewhere in the area where this supremely international style manifested itself, the mentality, aesthetic ideals and financial possibilities of the donors.