The exhibition SKARBY KULTURY POLSKIEJ ZE ZBIOROW BIBLIOTEKI POLSKIEJ W PARYZU / POLISH CULTURAL TREASURES FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE POLISH LIBRARY IN PARIS at the National Museum in Krakow was organized by the Adam Mickiewicz Museum of Literature in Warsaw and the Foundation of Culture in Warsaw in cooperation with the Polish Library in Paris.
This exhibition is the first of its scale to present the most valuable historical documents, manuscripts of exceptional writers and artworks in the possession of the oldest Polish émigré library - the Polish Library in Paris. The items on view underwent conservation and restoration during 2003-2004 in the workshops of the Royal Palace and the National Library in Warsaw. The exhibition encompasses over three hundred fifty museum pieces of unusual historical and artistic value.
A section of the exhibition is devoted to the history of literature covers the activities of various émigré groups and associations. Chief among these was the Towarzystwo Literackie / Literary Society (from 1854 known as the Towarzystwo Historyczno-Literackie / Historical and Literary Society), the efforts of which lead to the creation of the Polish National Library in 1838. This section of the exhibit also explores the activities of exceptional individuals affiliated with the library, among them Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski, Karol Sienkiewicz, Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, Adam Mickiewicz, Juliusz Slowacki, Frederick Chopin and others. The documents on view include not only the manuscripts of famous Poles, but also highly unique and valuable historical artifacts, including a letter from Queen Bona to Pope Paul III dating from 1547 and the Act of the Sejm dated January 25, 1831 removing Tsar Nicholas I as the King of Poland.
A number of nineteenth century artworks are also on view and include the drawings and watercolors of Jan Piotr Norblin, Aleksander Orlowski, Teofil Kwiatkowski and Cyprian Norwid, the canvasses of Walenty Wankowicz, Kazimierz Alchimowicz, Pilatti, Leon Kaplinski and Antoni Kozakiewicz, and the works of women artists Zofia Szymanowska and Anna Bilińska-Bohdanowiczowa.
The work of such creative individualities as Leon Wyczolkowski, Jan Stanislawski, Jozef Pankiewicz, Wladyslaw Slewinski and Jan Rubczak represents the art of the Young Poland movement and the inter-war period. Particularly noteworthy among the paintings is a group of sixteen canvasses by Olga Boznanska - most of which are portraits and self-portraits - and a number of works by Gustaw Gwozdecki and Maurycy Gottlieb. Another highly valuable work is Leon Wyczolkowski's monumental pastel drawing of 1904 titled RYCERZ WSROD KWIATOW / KNIGHT AMONG FLOWERS.
The section of the exhibition devoted to paintings closes with a series of works by Waclaw Zawadowski, Jozef Czapski and Wlodzimierz Terlikowski, artists of a more recent generation who created just before and immediately after World War II.
The works of exceptional Polish graphic artists constitute a significant part of the Paris-based collection. In the exhibition, the many creators of black-and-white "paintings" are represented by the prints of A. Kaminski, Konstanty Brandel, Wladyslaw Skoczylas