Prince's collection
March 13 – August 22, 2010
curator of the exhibition: Anna Król
treasures from the collection of the Czartoryski foundation in Cracow.
The collection of the Princes Czartoryski, started by Duchess Izabella at the end of the 18th century, is the foundation of Polish museology, not coincidentally aimed at fostering patriotism and knowledge of history. After all, these were times when Poland could only live in the national culture, while on the map it ceased to exist. Princess Isabella and later her grandson, Prince Ladislaus, also collected works of art and handicrafts. Both history and art are also present at the “Princely Collection” exhibition. The Stalowa Wola exhibition will present, among others, exhibits related to such figures from the history of Poland as Hetman Stefan Czarniecki, Marshal Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski, King Jan III Sobieski, Prince Jozef Poniatowski.
In addition to portraits, the exhibition will include numerous militaria: white and firearms, parts of armor, as well as special memorabilia, such as King Jan III Sobieski’s rosary, Marshal Stanislaw Heraclius Lubomirski’s staff, and fragments of Hetman Stanislaw Zolkiewski’s sarcophagus, acquired after reconstruction in the 19th century.
A separate part of the exhibition will be occupied by a valuable collection of paintings and a collection of European handicrafts. The painting collection includes paintings by Flemish masters from the 17th-18th centuries, as well as by Polish artists and those active in Poland (Bacciarelli, Orłowski, Matejko, Boznańska and others). The crafts collection features, among others, old clocks, elaborate goblets, bowls, figurines, pouches and snuff boxes made of semi-precious stones (agate, jasper, carnelian, rock crystal, etc.) as well as items related to science: an extremely valuable 15th century astrolabe, compasses, callipers.
The third section includes exhibits related to the fall of the First Republic, national uprisings and the Great Emigration. The axis of this theme is Jan Matejko’s great allegorical painting “Poland Shackled.” There are also portraits of representatives of the Czartoryski family, including Izabela of Fleming (1746-1835) – the founder of the collection. The exhibition is complemented by memorabilia related to the national uprisings of November 1830 and January 1864, such as cartridges from the Battle of Grochow, crosses with inscriptions commemorating the bloody events of 1861, and a brooch “God Save Poland.”
curator of the exhibition: Anna Król
