National Museum of Poland in Warsaw
Originally established in 1862 as the Fine Art Museum, it became the National Museum (Muzeum Narodowe) of Poland in 1916. The museum’s present Modernist building was designed by Tadeusz Tolwinski. The collection include an archaeology department, medievel art and Polish paintings, and the Polish Military Museum.
The museum’s vast collection was started in 1862 with the initial purchase of 36 paintings. Subsequent acquisitions have since turned the museum into one of the finest in Warsaw. Despite losses suffered during World War II, the wide-ranging collection spans several centuries, from ancient artefacts and medieval painting to modern works. It includes pre- and post-20th-century Polish art and archaeological finds from Faras in present-day Sudan. As space is limited some collections can be seen only as part of special exhibitions.
Ancient Art
This gallery in the National Museum in Warsaw exhibits the discoveries of Polish archaeologists working in Egypt, Sudan, Cyprus and the Crimea (a part of Ukraine). In the Egyptian rooms, there are displays of mummies, sarcophagi and papyri. Among the papyri The Book of the Dead from the New Kingdom period of ancient Egyptian history, is particularly interesting.
Faras Archaeological Collection
The Faras Collection was brought together in 1972, and consists of items discovered by Polish archaeologists working in Nubia (a part of present-day Sudan) uring the early 1960s. The majority of the finds originate from the cathedral of Faras, which was the seat of the Nubian bishops between the 7th and 14th century AD.
The collection of the National Museum of Poland includes a large number of frescoes and architectural fragments, ranging from details of carvings to entire columns and capitals. The earliest frescoes date from the 8th century, and include depictions of St Peter and St Paul in majestic poses, as well as of St Anna.
Medieval Art
Gothic painting and sculpture forms the main focus of the medieval gallery. Many of the religious artefacts are from Polish churches which no longer exist. The most important of these are altarpieces, such as St Barbara’s altar dating from 1447, and one taken from Grudziadz, created in about 1380, which is decorated with scenes from the lives of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary.
From the church of St Elizabeth (sw. Elzbieta) in Wroclaw comes a sculpted altarpiece representing the Annunciation, thought to have been created in about 1480. A 16th-century triptych from Plawno illustrates the legend of St Stanislaw, believed to be have been painted by the artist Hans Süss of Kulmbach.
A splendid Pietà from Lubiaz is dated from about 1370, and the so-called Beautiful Madonna from Wroclaw dates from 1410. Also from Wroclaw, there is a retable- an ornamental altar screen used for a religious painting or sculpture. The one on display was carved by Jacob Beinhart in about 1400. It is decorated with a basrelief of St Luke painting the Virgin mary.
Pre-20th-Century Polish Art
By far the largest department in the National Museum in Warsaw is the collection of Polish painting, sculpture and other works of art created between the 16th century and the outbreak of World War II. The largest number of historic paintings are protraits, while the so-called golden age of the Enlightment is represented by superb artists such as Bernardo Bellotto, who often used the name of his uncle and mentor, Canaletto. Among Bellotto’s detailed paintings is a view of Warsaw in 1773, looking from the terrace of the Royal Castle. The series of 18th-century portraits by Marcello Bacciareli includes a portrait of King Stanislaw August Poniatowski, which symbolically shows the king with an hourglass.
Highlights from the Romantic section are two paintings by Piotr Michalowski: one of his daughter on horseback, and another of Napoleon Bonaparte, alsoon horseback. Other Romatic painters whose works are represented in the collection include Jozef Simmler and Henryk Rodakowski. The former is famous for his paitning The Death of Barbara Radziwill.
Leading the collection of paintings of historical subjects is Jan Matejko his great work The Battle of Grunwald (Zalgiris). Among his other works is Stanczyk, which depicts the famous Polish court jester. The academic style can be seen in Henryk Siemiradzki his work, particularly Christian Dirce, with Realism represented by the Gierymski brothers and Jozef Chelmonski.
Battle of Grunwald
Impressionst paintings include works by Leon Wyczolkowski, Wladyslaw Podkowinski and Jozef Pankiewicz. Symbolism and Modernism are represented by artists such as Jozef Mehoffer, who painted The Strange Garden, as well as through Stanislaw Wyspianski his pastel works.
The National Museum in Warsaw
Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie
Aleje Jerozolimskie 3, 00-495 Warszawa
tel. (+48 22) 621 10 31, 629 30 93
fax (+48 22) 622 85 59