Wyspiański. Studio Space

Exhibition of Stanisław Wyspiański’s works from the collection of the National Museum in Krakow.

Stanisław Wyspiański (1869–1907) – playwright, poet, painter, graphic artist, theatre reformer and interior designer – is one of the greatest and most versatile Polish artists

The National Museum in Krakow holds the largest collection of works of this eminent artist, consisting of more than 1,000 exhibits. The set of Wyspiański’s pastel portraits and landscapes is outstanding – pastel being a technique in which Wyspiański achieved absolute mastery – just like the collection of designs for the interior decoration of the Franciscan church in Krakow, cathedrals in Lviv and Krakow and the Medical Society House in Krakow. The collection also includes pencil drawings, charcoal studies, ink sketches, watercolours, oil paintings, prints, graphic design and artisanal handicraft.

May 2019 saw the closure of the monumental exhibition Wyspiański which attracted crowds of visitors. Intending to give the public permanent access to Wyspiański’s painting, we have decided to present a major portion of this large collection in a room within the space of the future Gallery of Art of the 20th and 21st Centuries on the Main Building’s second floor. The exhibition has been designed as a storeroom of works of art with enabled access to masterpieces presented within periodic displays, respecting conservatorial requirements.

Pastel paintings are displayed as mosaics on the walls; the monumental stained-glass cartoons are mounted on raised platforms; and loose drawings and sketchbooks are arranged in cabinets and bookshelves.