The exhibition was presented from early February to May 2015 at the National Museum of China in Beijing. According to the Polish Minister of Culture Małgorzata Omilanowska, it was the biggest Polish exhibition held abroad that year. It comprised nearly 250 objects – not only sculptures and paintings, but also handicraft items, weapons, medals and posters.
The scenario of presentation of Polish art masterpieces was prepared by Professor Maria Poprzęcka, in the way to 'both reflect our idea how we want Polish art to be presented in the world, as well as to meet the expectations of the Chinese organisers. We want to show the very best that we have, but in such a way to make our message intelligible to the Chinese audience' - said the Minister of Culture Małgorzata Omilanowska at a press conference.
The selection of objects for the exhibition was dictated, on the one hand, by their nature typical for Polish art, on the other hand by their artistic value. We try to show the specific characteristics of Polish art, such as the important role of historical painting in the nineteenth century. At the same time, we try to bring it nearer to the Chinese viewers by pointing at certain similarities, such as oriental influences, typical for the time of Sarmatism - said Professor Poprzęcka.
In early June 2015, the exhibition Treasures from Chopin's Country: Polish Art from the 15th - 20th Century was transported to Seoul, where it was presented under a new title Polish Art: An Enduring Spirit. The Korean audience were able to see the exhibition at the National Museum of Korea, the flagship museum of history and art in South Korea.
At the request of the National Museum of Korea, several exhibits related to Fryderyk Chopin and Nicolaus Copernicus were added to the exhibition in Seoul, such as the cast of Chopin's hand or the book by Nicolaus Copernicus On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres (De revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium) published in 1543.
We show Polish art chronologically: from the fifteenth century - the late Middle Ages until the late twentieth century - the exhibition coordinator Iwona Danielewicz from the National Museum in Warsaw told Polish Press Agency. - We present medieval altars, Beautiful Madonnas, statues of saints, portraits - all the splendor of old Polish culture. Great prominence is also given to the period of Sarmatism; there are portraits of Polish nobility, coffin portraits, knights' armours, hussar wings, saddles, kontusz garments, Słuck sashes, chalices, tankards.
According to Dalnielewicz, the exhibition also featured the so-called Rolka Sztokholmska (Stockholm Scroll) - a 16-meter watercolour scroll painting, depicting the wedding procession of King Sigismund III Vasa, as well as a magnificent painting by Jan Matejko Stefan Batory pod Pskowem (Stefan Batory at Pskov). Moreover, the exhibition showed the art in times of loss of independence and its importance for the survival of the national consciousness in the days of Poland's partitions.
The closing part of the exhibition presented world-famous Polish poster art. The accompanying historical information joined all sections of the exhibition into an interesting, coherent story of Polish art.
The exhibition was organized by the National Museum in Warsaw in collaboration with Culture.pl, the flagship brand of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and National Museums in Kraków and Poznań.