Department of Modern Art
Department of Modern Art
The Department of Modern Art of the National Museum in Krakow preserves works of arts created in the period from c. 1764 to c. 1914: paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints and photographs. These objects are displayed as part of exhibitions in The Jan Matejko House, Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art in the Sukiennice, Gallery of 20th-Century Polish Art in the Main Building of the NMK, in The Józef Mehoffer House and in The Szołayski House.
The collection of this Department is one of the largest and most diverse in the Museum holdings. It includes:
1. The collection of The Jan Matejko House, which comprises works representing all phases of the artist's work: mainly small-sized compositions on historical themes, sketches for large paintings and depictions of historical figures. Portraits, drawings and cartoons for wall paintings are of particular value. The collection is supplemented by Jan Matejko's memorabilia – valuable documents, including letters, photographic documentation of the artist's collection, as well as his medals and diplomas. It also features a prominent selection of decorative arts, textiles, clothing and militaria – props used by Matejko in his work. Jan Matejko's book collection contains old prints from the 16th to the 18th century, and publications on history and art, frequently with dedications for the artist. There are also papers on Jan Matejko published after his death in 1893.
2. The collection of 19th- century Polish paintings and drawings, which comprises works created mainly in the 19th, but also in the second half of the 18th century and at the beginning of the 20th. These works were authored by artists such as Franciszek Smuglewicz, Marcello Bacciarelli, Jan Matejko, Maurycy Gottlieb, Henryk Rodakowski, Witold Pruszkowski, Józef Chełmoński, and Stanisław Witkiewicz. The collection also features a valuable set of works by Piotr Michałowski and Henryk Siemiradzki, as well as a wide selection of works by Aleksander Kotsis and Aleksander Gierymski. The Department also boasts a collection of portrait painting from the 18th and 19th century.
3. The collection comprising art of the late 19th and early 20th century is a particularly impressive set reflecting the fundamental aesthetic and ideological assumptions of the era. It features paintings, drawings and prints by the most outstanding Polish artists of the time: Stanisław Wyspiański, Jacek Malczewski, Olga Boznańska, Jan Stanisławski, Witold Wojtkiewicz, Wojciech Weiss, Leon Wyczółkowski, Ferdynand Ruszczyc and sculptors Ludwik Puget, Konstanty Laszczka and Wacław Szymanowski. These works are complemented by the largest collection of Młoda Polska [Young Poland] posters in the holdings. Most of them were donated by private individuals, including first and foremost Feliks 'Manggha' Jasieński, Erazm Barącz, Leon Kostka and Stanisław Tomkowicz. The collection of works from this period also features valuable French prints made by such artists as Pierre Bonnard, Eugène Carrière, Maurice Denis, Paul Gauguin, Odilon Redon, Auguste Renoir, or Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
4. The collection of old photographs, which comprises more than eighty thousand objects created in the years 1850-1945 in Poland and abroad. It consists of two main sections: photographs and reproductions. The first group is dominated by photo prints, but it also features photographic plates, daguerreotypes and single prints on metal, leather and oilcloth. Their authors include the most renowned photographers such as Karol Beyer, Michał Greim, Ignacy Krieger and Walery Rzewuski. This rich and diverse collection contains portraits of prominent citizens and documentation of works of art in the field of architecture, painting, sculpture and decorative arts. It also features archival photographs of the interiors and the buildings of the branches of the National Museum in Krakow.
The reproductions come from magazines published in the 19th and early 20th century and some of them feature sophisticated gravures. Another category comprises a collection of postcards, numbering more than six thousand objects – mostly reproductions, but also a smaller selection of postcards in form of photo prints with stamps and correspondence.
The collection of this Department is one of the largest and most diverse in the Museum holdings. It includes:
1. The collection of The Jan Matejko House, which comprises works representing all phases of the artist's work: mainly small-sized compositions on historical themes, sketches for large paintings and depictions of historical figures. Portraits, drawings and cartoons for wall paintings are of particular value. The collection is supplemented by Jan Matejko's memorabilia – valuable documents, including letters, photographic documentation of the artist's collection, as well as his medals and diplomas. It also features a prominent selection of decorative arts, textiles, clothing and militaria – props used by Matejko in his work. Jan Matejko's book collection contains old prints from the 16th to the 18th century, and publications on history and art, frequently with dedications for the artist. There are also papers on Jan Matejko published after his death in 1893.
2. The collection of 19th- century Polish paintings and drawings, which comprises works created mainly in the 19th, but also in the second half of the 18th century and at the beginning of the 20th. These works were authored by artists such as Franciszek Smuglewicz, Marcello Bacciarelli, Jan Matejko, Maurycy Gottlieb, Henryk Rodakowski, Witold Pruszkowski, Józef Chełmoński, and Stanisław Witkiewicz. The collection also features a valuable set of works by Piotr Michałowski and Henryk Siemiradzki, as well as a wide selection of works by Aleksander Kotsis and Aleksander Gierymski. The Department also boasts a collection of portrait painting from the 18th and 19th century.
3. The collection comprising art of the late 19th and early 20th century is a particularly impressive set reflecting the fundamental aesthetic and ideological assumptions of the era. It features paintings, drawings and prints by the most outstanding Polish artists of the time: Stanisław Wyspiański, Jacek Malczewski, Olga Boznańska, Jan Stanisławski, Witold Wojtkiewicz, Wojciech Weiss, Leon Wyczółkowski, Ferdynand Ruszczyc and sculptors Ludwik Puget, Konstanty Laszczka and Wacław Szymanowski. These works are complemented by the largest collection of Młoda Polska [Young Poland] posters in the holdings. Most of them were donated by private individuals, including first and foremost Feliks 'Manggha' Jasieński, Erazm Barącz, Leon Kostka and Stanisław Tomkowicz. The collection of works from this period also features valuable French prints made by such artists as Pierre Bonnard, Eugène Carrière, Maurice Denis, Paul Gauguin, Odilon Redon, Auguste Renoir, or Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
4. The collection of old photographs, which comprises more than eighty thousand objects created in the years 1850-1945 in Poland and abroad. It consists of two main sections: photographs and reproductions. The first group is dominated by photo prints, but it also features photographic plates, daguerreotypes and single prints on metal, leather and oilcloth. Their authors include the most renowned photographers such as Karol Beyer, Michał Greim, Ignacy Krieger and Walery Rzewuski. This rich and diverse collection contains portraits of prominent citizens and documentation of works of art in the field of architecture, painting, sculpture and decorative arts. It also features archival photographs of the interiors and the buildings of the branches of the National Museum in Krakow.
The reproductions come from magazines published in the 19th and early 20th century and some of them feature sophisticated gravures. Another category comprises a collection of postcards, numbering more than six thousand objects – mostly reproductions, but also a smaller selection of postcards in form of photo prints with stamps and correspondence.