Genius of the Baroque. Szymon Czechowicz (1689-1775)

16.10.2020-28.03.2021 Genius of the Baroque. Szymon Czechowicz (1689-1775)

Art of Szymon Czechowicz — a Pole whose talent matches that of the best Italian masters of his era — has never been presented in a special, monograph exhibition. A large display of his oeuvre — more than 200 paintings and drawings — makes a unique opportunity to meet grand art of late Baroque.

Rome was the cradle of the Baroque. Artists from all over Europe flocked there to develop their talents at the famous Academy of St. Luke. Czechowicz was one of the few who came from Poland. He began his Roman studies around 1710. At the time, Baroque painting in Rome was distinctive for its classicized forms and monumentalism. Proficiency in drawing, refined colours, impressional style, and skill in creating intricated, glamorous scenes, where the mundane entwins with the heavenly, crowded with angels, featured the art of the Eternal City. Czechowicz remained there for about 20 years, and when he returned to the homeland around 1730, he was already a mature painter who for the rest of his long and fruitful life remained faithful to the ideas of Roman Late Baroque. Very soon he became extraordinarely renowned, since there was no other painter here who could compete with him. Magnates, bishops and religious orders comissioned numerous paintings to decorate churches all throughout the vast territiories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Many of the paintings perished but many still exist and pay tribute to the outstanding talent of their creator. The exhibition in the National Museum in Krakow is the first ever attempt at reveiling Czechowicz’s artisanship to the wide public. We can see here the oeuvre of the master represented by almost 200 artworks, collected from numerous museums and churches from Poland, France, Italy, Lithuania, Ukraine and the United States. Only a few of them have been hosted so far in the museum's exhibition rooms, and to date many have been quite unknown.

Exhibition curator: Dr. Tomasz Zaucha
Design: Luiza Berdak
Project coordinator: Katarzyna Pawłowska

ONLINE BOOKSTORE:

MNK AudioGuides:
Google Play
App Store

Keywords:

Szymon Czechowicz, Baroque

MNK The Main Building

al. 3 Maja 1

Monday: closed
Tuesday - Sunday: 10.00-18.00

GENIUS OF THE BAROQUE. Szymon Czechowicz - exhibition space

pre

PALAZZO CHIGI IN ARICCIA AT ROME
Dr. Tomasz Zaucha and dir. Francesco Petrucci leaning over a showcase with the keys to the Sistine Chapel that were used by members of Chigi family during conclaves. / FOT. M. TARNOWSKA-RESZCZYŃSKA

PREPARATIONS FOR THE EXHIBITION „GENIUS OF THE BAROQUE. SZYMON CZECHOWICZ (1689-1775)”

PAINTING AND SCULPTURE STUDIO AT THE BISHOP ERAZM CIOŁEK PALACE
Dr. Monika Tarnowska-Reszczyńska at the paintings from the monastery of the Visitation Nuns in Warsaw. / FOT. E. SŁOCZYŃSKA

LVIV NATIONAL ART GALLERY, UKRAINE
Loan documents are being signed; from the left: Prof. Rafał-Quirini-Popławski, Deputy Director, Dr. Tomasz Zaucha, exhibition curator, Prof. Andrzej Szczerski, Director, and Taras Voznyak, General Director of the Lviv National Art Gallery. / FOT. M. TARNOWSKA-RESZCZYŃSKA

CHURCH OF THE VISITATION NUNS IN WARSAW
The paitings from the monastere are being packed before the shipment to Krakow. / FOT. T. ZAUCHA

FRANCISCAN CHURCH IN KOŁO
Dr. Tomasz Zaucha behind St. Anna altar. / FOT. M. TARNOWSKA-RESZCZYŃSKA

POLISH CHURCH SAN STANISLAO DEI POLACCHI IN ROME
The painting St. Hedvigis taken out from the altar, before conservation that will prepare the canvas for the exhibition in Krakow. / FOT. M. TARNOWSKA-RESZCZYŃSKA

CHURCH IN SIEMIATYCZE
Dr. Tomasz Zaucha and Natalia Koziara at the altar with the painting attributed to Czechowicz, St. Vincent de Paul. / FOT. M. TARNOWSKA-RESZCZYŃSKA

DIOECESAN MUSEUM IN DROHICZYN
Dr. Tomasz Zaucha, Krzysztof Zięba, our driver, and Natalia Koziara examine the portrait of Czechowicz’s patron: Franciszek Maksymilian Ossoliński. / FOT. M. TARNOWSKA-RESZCZYŃSKA

CHURCH HERITAGE MUSEUM IN VILNIUS
Before the painting Crucifixion in the main altar of the former church of St. Michael. / FOT. M. TARNOWSKA-RESZCZYŃSKA

FRANCISCAN MONASTERY OF S. BONAVENTURA AL PALATINO IN ROME
Natalia Koziara and Dr. Tomasz Zaucha together with Father Sidival Fila, the guardian, contemplate Czechowicz’s painting in the monastery hallway. / FOT. M. TARNOWSKA-RESZCZYŃSKA

ACCADEMIA NAZIONALE DI SAN LUCA IN ROME
Dr. Tomasz Zaucha and Natalia Koziara in the library of the Academy. / FOT. M. TARNOWSKA-RESZCZYŃSKA

CHURCH IN CIECHANOWIEC
Dr. Monika Tarnowska-Reszczyńska, conservator, evaluates the condition of a painting ‘Feeding the multitude’ at a side altar. / FOT. T. ZAUCHA

CATHEDRAL IN KIELCE
Janusz Feluś, installment specialist, during a revision of the painting in the main altar. / FOT. M. TARNOWSKA-RESZCZYŃSKA

CAPUCHIN CHURCH IN LUBARTÓW
Dr. Tomasz Zaucha, curator of the exhibition, at the altar of St. Anthony.

pre