GOLDEN FLEECE - THE ART OF GEORGIA

18.04-15.09.2024 GOLDEN FLEECE - THE ART OF GEORGIA

The National Museum in Krakow is already inviting you to the first not only in Poland, but probably also in Europe, such a comprehensive, panoramic and wide-ranging exhibition of Georgian art - from the oldest traces of human activity through stunning, ancient examples of Kolchida gold, stone steles of the early Middle Ages, the most ancient traces of human activity, enchanting ancient examples of Colchis gold, stone steles of the early Middle Ages, shimmering with a blaze of colours medieval illuminated codices, modern clothes, militaria, through landscapes illustrating the changing face of Tbilisi and paintings by Pirosmani, to avant-garde art of the 20th century, including the contribution to its development of Polish artists, who tied their lives to this beautiful and unusual country.

The exhibition of Georgian art, planned in cooperation with the leading museums of Georgia in 2024, in its fundamental idea is to be cross-sectional, covering the period from antiquity to modern times, and at the same time focusing on selected aspects of the great heritage of Georgian culture. We take up the challenge of presenting you with a panorama of art that is diverse, fascinating and rich, while at the same time addressing a number of problematic issues, bringing you closer to the peculiarities of the Georgian language and its alphabet, its associated exuberant literature, music, as well as the flowering of the magnificent medieval culture. Due to the location of the exhibition, and in order to emphasise the long-standing ties connecting Georgia and Poland, it is indispensable to present the achievements of Poles who worked and created for Georgia, both as exiles and out of free choice. We are keen to present great moments in Georgian history using works that can be described as cimelia.

We are planning to prepare the exhibition in the most representative and at the same time the largest Exhibition Hall in the Main Building of the NMK. Our strategic partner is the National Museum in Tbilisi, while the list of objects also includes the collections of other partner institutions, which include the State Museum in Kutaisi, the Museum - Dadiani Palace in Zugdidi, the Archaeological Museum in Batumi and a number of Museums and institutions in Tbilisi: the Palace of Arts, the National Manuscript Centre in Tbilisi and the Tbilisi City Museum. The exhibition will be divided into ten sections presenting Georgia as the cradle of world winemaking and, at the same time, the process of creating a social community and state. Fascinating archaeological finds will be demonstrated, including the oldest agricultural tools, evidence of the birth of metallurgy and ancient ceramics.

In the section devoted to the Treasures of Colchis, we will document the importance of the first, intensive contacts between Greece and Georgia, perpetuated in the myth of the Argonauts' expedition to Colchis, and at the same time the wealth of sophisticated ancient goldsmith's art. The adoption of Christianity will be recalled by magnificent stone steles created many centuries before the new religion arrived to Poland. We will showcase monuments of Georgian writing with various versions of the alphabet, as well as different varieties of musical culture. The nerve of the Georgian state is its capital city, therefore the iconography of the city, its history and transformations will be presented with an indication of landmarks, such as the Sioni Cathedral and the Old Bazaar, as depicted on the canvases of avant-garde and orientalist artists and in photography. The exhibition provides a unique opportunity to present the work of Polish artists who tied their lives to Georgia, such as Henryk Filipowicz and Henryk Hryniewski. A separate presentation will be given to the work of the most famous Georgian artist Niko Pirosmani, who combined motifs related to everyday life and Georgian tradition with a specific stylisation, giving his works a unique, personal stamp. The exhibition will close with a presentation of selected works by avant-garde artists with whom Polish artists, including Zygmunt Waliszewski, were also associated.

curator and author of the exhibition scenario: Prof. dr hab. Mirosław Piotr Kruk
coordination: Katarzyna Pawłowska
exhibition design: Magdalena Bujak

Realisation of the panorama of Georgian art “Golden Fleece – Art of Georgia”

Co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage

Keywords:

exhibition, Georgia

MNK The Main Building

al. 3 Maja 1

Monday: closed
Tuesday - Sunday: 10.00-18.00

Openwork buckle, Georgia, bronze, 1st–2nd century AD, from Ghebi (Oni district), Simon Janashia Museum of Georgia (Georgian National Museum)

Ram-shaped vessel, around 2nd–1st millennium BC, clay, from the cemetery in Trela, Simon Janashia Museum of Georgia (Georgian National Museum)

Rhyton, 1st century BC–3rd century AD, silver, from Gomi (Oni district), Kutaisi State Historical Museum

Temple pendants, hoard of Akhalgori (Kartlia), 4th century BC, Simon Janashia Museum of Georgia (Georgian National Museum)

Stone stele from early Christian church, VI–VII century AD, with Asomtavruli inscriptions, from Ude (Samtskhe), Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts (Georgian National Museum)

Figurine of a youth – the so-called The Golden Boy from Gonio, 2nd–3rd century AD, Batumi Archaelogical Museum

Lion eating sinner, stone relief found in the Jegeta valley, West Georgia (Mingrelia), Dadiani Palaces Historical and Architectural Museum

Ceremonial bison of Queen Tamar restored according to the fresco from Vardzia, 1940, Art Palace of Georgia – Museum of Cultural History

Alabastron (vessel for perfume), tinted glass, import from eastern Mediterranean Basin, 5th century BC, Batumi Archaelogical Museum

Roman Wilczyński (1807-1857), View of the Tyflis City on page no. 14 from The Diary from Vyatka, 1837 (?), ink, water paint, paper, The National Museum in Krakow

Edward Nicz (1851-1916) after Henryk Filipowicz (1842-after 1915), Caucasian of the Khevsureti strain, from Kłosy 1887, no. 1162, 24 September 1887, page 217, woodcut, paper, The National Museum in Krakow

Henryk Filipowicz (1842-after 1915), Portrait of a woman in the atelier, around 1885, print from glass negative, The National Museum in Warsaw

Niko Pirosmani, Feast of the Malakans, oil on oilcloth, Signagi Museum (Georgian National Museum)

Henryk Hryniewski (1869-1938), Ararat, watercolour, cardboard,
Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts (Georgian National Museum)

Garment of a resident of Tbilisi from the 19th century, Art Palace of Georgia – Museum of Cultural History

Charter from Code Ad-1837, Kakhetian King Archil`s donation to Svetitskhoveli, Georgian-Persian manuscript written in the Mkhedruli alphabet, 1670, Korneli Kekelidze Georgian National Centre of Manuscripts

Petre Otshkeli, Winged painter, 1936, pencil, watercolour, paper, Art Palace of Georgia – Museum of Cultural History

Head of a deer – treasure of Tagiloni, 1st century BC–1st century AD, Dadiani Palaces Historical and Architectural Museum

Sofia Mirzashvili (1909–1992), Archangel from the scene of the Annunciation (copy of a 11th-century fresco from the Ateni Sioni Church), 1936, paper, gouache, tempera, oil, wooden frame, canvas, Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts (Georgian National Museum)

Irakli Gamrekeli, Man and the Masses, 1923, gouache, pencil, paper, Art Palace of Georgia – Museum of Cultural History

Wine vessel, Nikoloz Gurji, Tbilisi, 19th century, silver, Art Palace of Georgia – Museum of Cultural History

Church door with carved ornaments and images of saints, 11th century AD, Church of the Archangel Gabriel in the village of Chukuli (Mestia, Svaneti), Simon Janashia Museum of Georgia (Georgian National Museum)

David Kakabadze, Imeretia, oil, canvas, 1919,
Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts (Georgian National Museum)

pre

“CULTURE BEYOND BORDERS” | “კულტურა საზღვრებს მიღმა”

“CULTURE BEYOND BORDERS” | “კულტურა საზღვრებს მიღმა” - the Polish-Georgian museum collaboration project

The core assumption of the project is the preparation and implementation of the “Cultural Institution Management Academy” program which will make it possible to create a platform for exchange of experience and best practices between Polish and Georgian cultural institutions. The project will enable to share knowledge about standards which have been developed, solutions for strategic operational areas for museums, museum management processes and the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage.

GOLDEN FLEECE - THE ART OF GEORGIA

MNK The Main Building

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“CULTURE BEYOND BORDERS” | “კულტურა საზღვრებს მიღმა”

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GOLDEN FLEECE - THE ART OF GEORGIA

MNK The Main Building

Related articles

“CULTURE BEYOND BORDERS” | “კულტურა საზღვრებს მიღმა”

CO-ORGANIZERS

Exhibition under honorary patronage

EXHIBITION PARTNERS

Patron of the National Museum in Kraków

STRATEGIC PARTNERS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM IN KRAKOW

Promotional partners

Media partners

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