The Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art is located in the rooms on the first floor of the Sukiennice (Cloth Hall), in the heart of Krakow’s Main Market Square. The spaces of the Cloth Hall were made available to the city’s community after its restoration and reconstruction between 1877 and 1879. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1879, the 50th anniversary of J\u00f3zef Ignacy Kraszewski\u2019s creative work was celebrated in the interiors of the Sukiennice. During the ceremony, the famous gesture of the painter Henryk Siemiradzki took place. He donated his painting Nero\u2019s Torches<\/em> [\u201ePochodnie Nerona\u201d] to the public as the founding piece of the newly established National Museum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The monumental Nero’s Torches<\/em> shows a scene from the history of the persecution of the first Christians. The work was created by the artist at a time when Poland did not exist on maps. Due to the theme and the story presented on the canvas, the painting aroused strong emotions among the audience. This emotional impact was even greater as the painting became the founding piece of a new collection, which was soon joined by several dozen works from other contemporary artists inspired by Siemiradzki. From that moment on, we follow the history of the National Museum\u2014an institution that acquires contemporary art and actively engages with important issues in public discourse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The layout of the Gallery’s rooms corresponds to the periods in 19th-century art, which are respectively patronized by: Marcello Bacciarelli, Piotr Micha\u0142owski, Henryk Siemiradzki and J\u00f3zef Che\u0142mo\u0144ski. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Bacciarelli Room displays painting and sculpture from the Enlightenment era, in the trends of late Baroque, Neoclassicism, and Sentimentalism. It shows the stylistic pluralism of artists working under the patronage of the King of Poland, Stanis\u0142aw August Poniatowski. The subject of the works of art created along his path ranged from a portrait and allegory to representations of historical events, crucial for the history of the Republic of Poland. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We get to know them through the approach of artists such as: Marcello Bacciarelli, J\u00f3zef Grassi, Jan Chrzciciel Lampi, Aleksander Or\u0142owski, Jan Bogumi\u0142 Plersch, Franciszek Smuglewicz, Jakub Tatarkiewicz. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Romanticism in painting is a phenomenon covering the period from the end of the 17th century to the middle of the 19th century. As in the case of the same tendencies throughout Europe, it was not limited to one aesthetic, it was characterized by thematic and stylistic diversity. In the Polish lands, the Romantic movement was firmly rooted in dramatic historical events: the fall of the state and, subsequently, the repeated uprisings aimed at regaining independence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are paintings and sculptures created by artists: Artur Grottger, Leon Kapli\u0144ski, Piotr Micha\u0142owski, Henryk Rodakowski, J\u00f3zef Simmler, Wojciech Korneli Stattler, Micha\u0142 Stachowicz, Teodor Baltazar Stachowicz and J\u00f3zef Suchodolski. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Somosierra <\/em>by Piotr Micha\u0142owski, the scene of the battle on the mountain pass, is an image bearing the most important threads of the era: the fight for freedom and ideals, lonely heroism, brotherhood of arms and patriotism. Romantic moodiness in Polish art is intertwined with the intense experience of the Napoleonic Wars, national liberation struggles, and uprisings in which various social classes participated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Academies and art salons in the second half of the 19th century brought together artists who created art that uniquely moved the imagination of the audience. It was within their circle that monumental canvases were created: Nero’s Torches<\/em> by Henryk Siemiradzki and Ko\u015bciuszko at Rac\u0142awice <\/em>[\u201eKo\u015bciuszko pod Rac\u0142awicami\u201d] by Jan Matejko. This was a time when an academic hierarchy of topics determined the success of a work of art, distinguishing “history” (biblical scenes or events from the history of the nation), portrait, genre scenes, landscapes and still life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Siemiradzki Room, there are works by: Tadeusz Ajdukiewicz, Kazimierz Alchimowicz, Feliks Cichocki-Na\u0142\u0119cz, Wojciech Gerson, Hipolit Lipi\u0144ski, Jan Matejko, Jacek Malczewski, Maksymilian Antoni Piotrowski, Witold Piwnicki, Pius Welo\u0144ski, and others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The layout of the gallery of 19th-century Polish art is conducive to learning about the work of subsequent generations of artists. Neighbouring Jan Matejko’s Wernyhora<\/em> and Jacek Malczewski’s Death of Ellenai<\/em>[\u201e\u015amier\u0107 Ellenai\u201d], point to the richness of artistic and cultural associations surrounding the rediscovered Polish historical painting, extending slightly into the future under the influence of late 19th-century Romantic symbolism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Realism, Polish Impressionism, and the beginnings of Symbolism are the themes of the artworks displayed in the Che\u0142mo\u0144ski Room, the final section of the exhibition at the Sukiennice. The various trends are organized around visual and ideological dominants, with the most prominent being Four-in-Hand <\/em>[\u201eCzw\u00f3rka\u201d] by J\u00f3zef Che\u0142mo\u0144ski\u2014a monumental painting located at the end of the room’s axis, depicting a galloping horse team racing toward the viewers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Realistic tendencies in 19th-century Polish art developed in the circle of the Warsaw School of Fine Arts and Drawing Class. This group included: Rafa\u0142 Radziewicz, Franciszek Kostrzewski, Wojciech Gerson, Henryk Pillati and J\u00f3zef Szermentowski. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Genre painting \u2013 depicting the everyday life of the squirearchy, bourgeoisie, and peasants \u2013 was seen by the artists as the art of the moment, perfectly reflecting their era. The interest in the people and their customs was manifested in various forms and approaches: analytical, social, seeking picturesqueness and symbols. These different approaches are represented by: J\u00f3zef Brandt, Aleksander Kotsis, Franciszek Kostrzewski, Witold Pruszkowski and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In times of developing realistic tendencies in art, the portrait lost the features of formality, becoming an intimate, psychological image of the portrayed person, or oneself, as in the Self-Portrait <\/em>of Anna Bili\u0144ska-Bohdanowicz. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Che\u0142mo\u0144ski Room houses paintings by Polish landscape artists educated in Munich and Paris, shaping the creative environments of Krakow and Warsaw. In their painting, animalistic, battle, and oriental motifs appear, with a key emphasis on painting technique and composition. This focus on these aspects of the artwork arises from following new trends in Western art, incorporating the achievements of Impressionism, Art Nouveau, and Symbolism into their creative language. It is here that the works of the Gierymski brothers, Jan Stanis\u0142awski, J\u00f3zef Pankiewicz, W\u0142adys\u0142aw Podkowi\u0144ski and Leon Wycz\u00f3\u0142kowski meet.
The paintings Introduction <\/em>[\u201eIntrodukcja\u201d] and Inspiration of the Painter<\/em> [\u201eNatchnienie malarza\u201d] by the painter Jacek Malczewski, as well as the neighbouring Ecstasy<\/em> [\u201eSza\u0142\u201d] by W\u0142adys\u0142aw Podkowi\u0144ski, foreshadow what will unfold in the art of the next century: symbolic themes, expression, and the continued search for forms of expression. These are the themes explored in the 20th and 21st-century Polish Art Gallery at the Main Building of the MNK.<\/p>\n\n\n\nGalleries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n