The Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art at Sukiennice ( pl, Galeria Sztuki Polskiej XIX wieku w Sukiennicach), is a division of the

National Museum, Kraków The National Museum in Kraków ( pl, Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie), popularly abbreviated as MNK, is the largest museum in Poland, and the main branch of Poland's National Museum, which has several independent branches with permanent collections arou ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. The Gallery is housed on the upper floor of the Renaissance '' Sukiennice'' Cloth Hall in the center of the Main Market Square in

Old Town Kraków Old or OLD may refer to: Places * Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, M ...

. The Gallery holds the largest permanent exhibit of the 19th-century Polish painting and sculpture, in four grand rooms. The majority of today's collection at Sukiennice comprises gifts from collectors, artists and their families.

History of the collection

The

National Museum in Kraków National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...

was founded on October 7, 1879 by the decree of Kraków City Council following two-year-long renovations of the '' Sukiennice'' Cloth Hall under the direction of Mayor Mikołaj Zyblikiewicz. At a ceremonial ball of October 3, 1879 it was announced that artist

Henryk Siemiradzki Henryk Hektor Siemiradzki (24 October 1843 – 23 August 1902) was a Russian-born Polish painter based in Rome, best remembered for his monumental academic art. He was particularly known for his depictions of scenes from the ancient Greek-Roman w ...

offered his monumental painting called the ''

Nero's Torches ''Nero's Torches'' () is an 1876 painting by the Polish artist Henryk Siemiradzki. It is also known as ''Candlesticks of Christianity'' (''Świeczniki chrześcijaństwa''). Description It depicts a group of Early Christian martyrs who are about ...

'' (''Pochodnie Nerona'') as gift to the city, with the intention of creating a brand new national gallery in the building. The new Museum elected

Władysław Łuszczkiewicz Władysław Łuszczkiewicz (September 3, 1828 – May 23, 1900) was a Polish historian and painter of the late Romantic era from Kraków, active in the period of the foreign partitions of Poland. He was a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts and ...

, Rector of the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute ...

as its first director. It was a major cultural venue from the moment it opened. The collection grew rapidly under the foreign partitions, with spontaneous donations pouring in from local gentry, as well as artists themselves. By the late 1930s, the collections consisted of almost 300,000 items, Siemiradzki won war, and all gold stop in abroad with German. Brudziński paint. The list of major benefactors grew exponentially bigger including many noble families. In 1920, the Museum acquired over 15,000 objects donated by a single collector, Feliks Manggha Jasieński, Dołęga coat-of arms. The construction of the Museum's contemporary '' New Main Building'' located at 3 Maja Street, started in 1934. All holdings ranging from antiquity to modern times were moved there. The Gallery was closed to visitors from October 2006 till 2009 for major renovations; the bulk of the gallery's collections moved to

Niepołomice Castle Niepołomice Royal Castle is a Gothic castle from the mid-14th century, rebuilt in the late Renaissance style and called the ''second Wawel''. It is situated in Niepołomice, Poland and was extensively reconstructed in the 1990s. Niepołomice C ...

for temporary display. The Gallery re-opened in 2010 with new technical equipment, storerooms, service spaces as well as improved thematic layout of the display, providing a broader view of Polish art of the time.

Arrangement

The gallery's arrangement resembles that of a 19th-century salon. Each of the four large exhibition halls is defined by historical period and the theme usually revolving around the one central painting extending into an entire artistic epoch. ; Bacciarelli Room The Enlightenment Room, also known as the Bacciarelli Room, features late Baroque, Rococo, and Classicist 18th-century portraits from the court of Stanisław August as well as historical paintings and battle scenes by Polish and foreign pre-Romantics; most notably, artwork by

Marcello Bacciarelli Marcello Bacciarelli (; 16 February 1731 – 5 January 1818) was a Polish- Italian painter of the late-baroque and Neoclassic periods. Biography He was born in Rome, and studied there under Marco Benefial. In 1750, with the recommendation of t ...

Josef Grassi Josef Grassi (22 April 1757 – 7 January 1838) was an Austrian portrait and history painter. His middle name is usually given as "Maria", although there is evidence that it was actually "Mathias".Michael Lorenz Wien 2012 He is also called "Giuse ...

, Giambattista Lampi, Per Krafft, Józef Pitschmann,

Aleksander Orłowski Aleksander Orłowski (9 March 1777 – 13 March 1832) was a Polish painter and sketch artist, and a pioneer of lithography in the Russian Empire. Life Orłowski was born in 1777 in Warsaw into an impoverished noble family, his father was a ...

Franciszek Smuglewicz Franciszek Smuglewicz ( lt, Pranciškus Smuglevičius; 6 October 1745 – 18 September 1807) was a Polish-Lithuanian draughtsman and painter. Smuglewicz is considered a progenitor of Lithuanian art in the modern era. He was precursor of hi ...

, Michał Stachowicz,

Kazimierz Wojniakowski Kazimierz Wojniakowski (1771/72, Kraków – 1812, Warsaw) was a Polish painter, illustrator and Freemason, known primarily for his portraits in the sentimentalist style. Life and work He was a pupil of Marcello Bacciarelli."Wojniakowski, Kazimie ...

and similar others. ; Michałowski Room The

Piotr Michałowski Piotr Michałowski (July 2, 1800 – June 9, 1855) was a Polish painter of the Romantic period, especially known for his many portraits, and oil studies of horses. Broadly educated, he was also a social activist, legal advocate, city administr ...

Room called Romanticism or the age of insurrections includes the art of

Artur Grottger Artur Grottger (11 November 1837 – 13 December 1867) was a Polish Romantic painter and graphic artist, one of the most prominent artists of the mid 19th century under the foreign partitions of Poland, despite a life cut short by incurable il ...

and Michałowski's own battle scenes with his famed "Somosierra" as well as paintings of "The Cardinal", "Seńko" and portraits on horseback. Other artists include

Henryk Rodakowski Henryk Hipolit Rodakowski (; 1823–1894) was a Polish painter. Biography He came from a well-known family of lawyers. Continuing the family tradition between 1841 and 1845, he studied law in Vienna. Later he studied painting under Joseph Danha ...

Jan Nepomucen Głowacki Jan Nepomucen Głowacki (1802 – July 28, 1847) was a Polish realist painter of the Romantic era, regarded as the most outstanding landscape painter of the early 19th century in Poland under the foreign partitions. Głowacki studied painting ...

– father of Polish school of landscape painting, Józef Simmler and Aleksander Józef Płonczyński among others. ; Siemiradzki Room The

Room entitled Around the Academy prominently displays the monumental ''Nero’s Torches'', a gift by an already world-renowned Siemiradzki to the Museum, painted around 1876. The exhibit revolves around the art of the late 19th century; mythological and biblical scenes, major historical events, independence themes, landscape, and still-life. Featured artists include

Jan Matejko Jan Alojzy Matejko (; also known as Jan Mateyko; 24 June 1838 – 1 November 1893) was a Polish painter, a leading 19th-century exponent of history painting, known for depicting nodal events from Polish history. His works include large scale ...

Wojciech Gerson Wojciech Gerson (; July 1, 1831 – February 25, 1901) was a leading Polish painter of the mid-19th century, and one of the foremost representatives of the Polish school of Realism during the foreign Partitions of Poland. He served as long-time ...

Jacek Malczewski Jacek Malczewski (; 15 July 1854 – 8 October 1929) was a Polish symbolist painter who is one of the most revered painters of Poland, associated with the patriotic Young Poland movement following a century of Partitions. He is regarded as the ...

, Tadeusz Ajdukiewicz, as well as

and others. Following major 2007 conservation the historical

panorama A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined i ...

Prussian Homage The Prussian Homage or Prussian Tribute (german: Preußische Huldigung; pl, hołd pruski) was the formal investment of Albert of Prussia as duke of the Polish fief of Ducal Prussia. In the aftermath of the armistice ending the Polish-Teuton ...

'' by Matejko is also prominently featured. ; Chełmoński Room The

Józef Chełmoński Józef Marian Chełmoński (November 7, 1849 – April 6, 1914) was a Polish painter of the realist school with roots in the historical and social context of the late Romantic period in partitioned Poland. He is famous for monumental painti ...

Room also called Realism, Polish Impressionism and Symbolism is devoted to new trends in Polish art of the late 19th century featuring landscape and genre painting, portraits, battle and domestic scenes by leading painters of the Young Poland movement, notably by Chełmoński himself with his ''Four-in-Hand'' (''Czwórka'', pictured), Maksymilian and

Aleksander Gierymski Ignacy Aleksander Gierymski (30 January 1850, Warsaw – d. 6–8 March 1901, Rome) was a Polish painter of the late 19th century, the younger brother of Maksymilian Gierymski. He was a representative of Realism as well as an important prec ...

Józef Pankiewicz Józef Pankiewicz (29 November 1866, in Lublin – 4 July 1940, in La Ciotat) was a Polish impressionist painter, graphic artist and teacher who spent much of his career in France. Biography From 1884 to 1885, he studied at the School of Fine Ar ...

, and

Leon Wyczółkowski Leon Jan Wyczółkowski (; 24 April 1852 – 27 December 1936) was one of the leading painters of the Young Poland movement, as well as the principal representative of Polish Realism in art of the Interbellum. From 1895 to 1911 he served as pro ...

(prominent impressionists); paintings by

Julian Fałat Julian Fałat, (30 July 1853 in Tuligłowy near Lwów – 9 July 1929 in Bystra Śląska) was one of the most prolific Polish painters of watercolor and one of the country's foremost landscape painters as well as one of the leading Polish im ...

Adam Chmielowski Albert Chmielowski (20 August 1845 – 25 December 1916) - born Adam Hilary Bernard Chmielowski - was a Polish nobleman, painter, disabled veteran of the Uprising of 1863, a professed religious and founder of both the Albertine Brothers and Alb ...

, Stanisław Masłowski ("

Moonrise Moonrise and moonset are times when the upper limb of the Moon appears above the horizon and disappears below it, respectively. The exact times depend on the lunar phase and declination, as well as the observer's location. As viewed from outsid ...

") and

Józef Brandt Józef Brandt (1841 in Szczebrzeszyn – 1915 in Radom) was a Polish painter, a representative of the Munich School, best known for his paintings of battles. Life Brandt studied in Warsaw in the school of J.N. Leszczynski and at the Noblemen's ...

, as well as large and controversial '' Ecstasy, or Frenzy of Exultations'' (1894, pictured) by

Władysław Podkowiński Władysław Podkowiński (; February 4, 1866 – January 5, 1895) was a Polish master painter and illustrator associated with the Young Poland movement during the Partition period. Career Podkowiński was born in Warsaw and began his art ...

, and many others. Symbolism is represented by the art of

. ; Sculpture Sculptures include Pius Weloński's "Gladiator", Walery Gadomski's "Salome", Piotr Wójtowicz's "Perseus With the Head of Medusa", Teodor Rygier’s "Bacchante" – he is the author of Adam Mickiewicz Monument adorning the entrance to the Museum on the east side of Kraków Main Square; Antoni Pleszowski's "Sadness", Piotr Michałowski's "Napoleon on Horseback" and Stanisław Lewandowski's "A Slav Breaking Chains". Among the collection of portrait sculptures are, Piotr Michałowski's self-portraits, Antoni Kurzawa's "Mickiewicz Awaking the Genius of Poetry", Antoni Madeyski's "Portrait of Aleksander Gierymski", Wiktor Brodzki's "Instigations of Love", Piotr Wójtowicz's "After a Bath" and Antoni Madeyski's "Greyhound".

Theme rooms

File:Galeria Sztuki Polskiej XIX wieku w Sukiennicach - sala Bacciarellego.jpg, Bacciarelli Room File:Galeria Sztuki Polskiej XIX wieku w Sukiennicach sala Michałkowskiego.jpg, Michałowski Room File:Galeria Sztuki Polskiej XIX wieku w Sukiennicach - sala Siemiradzkiego 2.jpg,

Siemiradzki Henryk Hektor Siemiradzki (24 October 1843 – 23 August 1902) was a Russian-born Polish painter based in Rome, best remembered for his monumental academic art. He was particularly known for his depictions of scenes from the ancient Greek-Roman ...

Room File:Galeria Sztuki Polskiej XIX wieku w Sukiennicach - sala Chełmońskiego 3.jpg, Chełmoński Room

References

External links

Sukiennice Museum Home Page
{{Authority control Art museums and galleries in Poland

Registered museums in Poland Museums in Kraków Art museums established in 1879 1879 establishments in Austria-Hungary

History of the collection

Arrangement

Theme rooms

See also

References

External links