One of the prominent images from the Heritage of the Centuries exhibition is a sketch with a painterly effect that primarily strives to broadly depict the dilapidated, romantic atmosphere of the church in Nógrádsáp. However, it also provides a feeling of the observed details through subtle means, for example, lines indicate where the medieval stone blocks show through the crumbling plaster. This watercolor depiction of the western façade of this Gothic church was made by János Sedlmayr when he was a third-year architectural student at the technical university on a historic property survey study trip organized by the Architectural History Department during a school break in 1953. Sedlmayr worked as a planner and the leader of a workshop for four decades starting from the creation of the National Inspectorate of Monuments in 1957, becoming one of its key figures during this period. Ilona Schőnerné Pusztai (who also plays an important role of the short film made for the exhibition) rehabilitated the church in Nógrádsáp while she was his immediate colleague and a member of his workshop. The research began in 1965, and the project was completed by 1969. In terms of its exterior, the western façade was changed the most. The vestibule that had been added later and can still be seen in the watercolor was demolished, thus restoring the original façade with its tower built of sandstone ashlar that protrudes slightly from the façade surface.
This image appears twice in the exhibition. Its 8x11 inch original is in one of the drawers from the Print and Drawing Archives that is located in the section describing documentary activities, in the segment presenting student survey drawings. It also appears on the giant projection screen, playfully animated and enlarged to a size that is closer to the scale of the actual building.
Erika F. Dóczi
