Kraków is an incredible city for art lovers, with galleries equal to any European city I’ve visited. The National Museum in Kraków (MNK) is the largest in Poland. MNK has independent branches and permanent collections in Kraków and throughout Poland. I’m working my way through exhibitions, and recently saw paintings and sculptures on display at MNK Sukiennice (Cloth Hall) in Market Square.
The Sukiennice exhibition is “one of the largest permanent exhibitions of 19th-century Polish painting and sculpture”. It’s magnificent! Works on display represent the “most significant trends in Polish art at the end of the 18th and 19th centuries”. Some of Poland’s most notable artists are represented in the exhibition, including:
- Jan Matejko – historical painter
- Jacek Malczewski – romanticism and symbolism
- Piotr Michałowski – romanticism and social activism
- Henryk Siemiradzki – scenes from the Greek-Roman world
- Józef Chełmoński – realism in rural landscapes and hunting scenes
- Maksymilian Gierymski – landscape artist
- Alexander Gierymski – realism and Renaissance humanism
- Józef Brandt – Polish knights and military victory scenes
- Pius Welonski – sculptor who dealt with mythological topics
- Marcello Bacciarelli – royal court painter
- Jan Piotr Norblin – rococo style painter
- Jan Stanisławski – symbolism in Polish landscape painting
- Leon Wyczółkowski – representative of realism in Polish art
- Władysław Podkowiński – impressionist and symbolist
- Józef Peszka – portraits of national heroes and townspeople
- Jan Bogumil Plersch – theatre scenery and frescos in royal palaces
- Henryk Rodakowski – romanticism
- Tadeusz Ajdukiewiz – painter of European Courts
- Stanislaw Maslowski – impressionist
- Antoni Adam Piotrowski – realism in battle themes and village life
- Adam Chmielowski – painter and critic of the realism movement
- Józef Pankiewicz – impressionist and symbolist
Art of the Sukiennice exhibition is presented on one floor in four rooms:
- Bacciarelli Room – enlightenment of late 18th, early 19th centuries
- Michałowski Room – romanticism with focus on national themes
- Siemiradzki Room – around the academy 2nd half of 19th century
- Chełmoński Room – realism, impressionism, symbolism
Market Square was as beautiful as ever, with an overcast sky making the buildings appear dramatic from any vantage point. Since it’s off season and the weather was a bit rainy, it was pleasantly quiet and uncrowded.
History
The National Museum was established in the mid to late 1800s. During WWII, German authorities treated the museum as a “warehouse for items they used as décor“. Confiscated art was placed in government offices and the homes of dignitaries for the Occupied Polish Region.
Even though Nazi officials were theoretically required to “deposit collateral” for art taken, museum wartime losses included thousands of objects. During the war, Cloth Hall was converted into a casino for German soldiers. After WWII, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage recovered some of the stolen art.
In this post, I’m including favorites from the over 200 paintings and sculptures presented. The light in landscapes by Leon Wyczółkowski, Władysław Podkowiński, and Jan Stanisławski is almost hypnotic. The sculpture, portraiture, and battle scenes were equally amazing!
