Blessed Eusebius of Esztergom

egg tempera on panel

24 x 30 inches

1990's

unframed

Catalogue No: TNYIL-401

The ancient city of Esztergom was Hungary’s first capital. Blessed Eusebius (in Hungarian, Boldog Őzséb) (1200–1270) was educated as a priest in Esztergom but decided to become a hermit in the nearby Pilis Mountains.

After receiving a vision, he assembled the many other religious hermits living, scattered out, in small caves of the forested mountainside. He convinced them to join him and he founded a monastery in the Pilis Mountains. This lead to the foundation of a religious order.

Nyilasi had a particular interest in Eusebius because his own summer cottage in the Pilis Mountains was located only two hundred meters from the site of that monastery.

In this mural plan, a king and queen meet with Eusebius and three of his fellow hermits. They humbly award him the funds to build a monastery, symbolized by the building which the King proffers. Eusebius raises his right hand, blessing the King's generosity.

Details in the painting include:

Upper left: Caves of the hermits; Christian crosses on hilltops.

Right side: The King’s castle, with a long staircase descending to their place of meeting. The King and Queen have humbly come down to meet Eusebius, rather than expecting him to attend an audience within the security of their fortress.

Middle, placed diagonally: A strip of pavement bisects the two groups, symbolically indicating the separation of secular and religious ways of life.