Young Poland. Polish Art 1890-1918

The exhibition “Young Poland”, dedicated to Poland and the development of Polish art in its “golden period“, that is between 1890 and 1918, will be held in Japan in 2025. It will tell a story about Polish history, the prologue to which will be outlined by works by Jan Matejko and Artur Grottger, as well as about Polish art, which at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries was not only part of the process of constructing national identity, but also ensured Poland’s presence and successes in the art salons of Europe despite the fact that Poland did not exist on maps of the time.

 The exhibition will display some of the major issues that the art of the period was concerned with, from the attempts at Impressionism to Symbolism and the search for national style, while the exhibits which the curators have carefully selected will also acknowledge the presence of Japanese art as a significant source of inspiration for Polish artists. The works of Olga Boznańska, Józef Pankiewicz, Julian Fałat, Józef Mehoffer and Władysław Ślewiński will be accompanied by Japanese woodcuts which illustrate the connection between Polish art and Japan. The exhibition aims to display over 150 paintings, drawings, and graphics,  as well as examples of handicrafts by the most important Polish artists of this period using their most recognisable, at times iconic, works of art. The majority of items in the exhibit come from the National Museum in Krakow. However, in order to showcase the greatness and beauty of the art of the Young Poland period, it is enriched by works from the National Museum in Warsaw, National Museum in Poznań, National Museum in Wrocław, Silesian Museum in Katowice, Mazovian Museum in Płock, District Museum in Toruń and Polish private collections.

Name of the task: execution of the exhibition “Young Poland. Polish Art 1890-1918” at the National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto

Co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage