THESAURI POLONIAE - The Treasures of Poland
Concerning the History of Polish Collections
December 3, 2002 till March 2, 2003
A Special Exhibition in Association with the “Year of Poland” in Austria
Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna I, Maria Theresien-Platz
This exhibition will be the first survey of Polish treasures dating from the Late Middle Ages to the period of the Enlightenment. Artworks on loan from, for example, the National Museums in Warsaw and Gdansk, and the Ecclesiastical Treasury, and the Historical Museum in Cracow will be on show.
The exhibit will have several focal points. Gdansk and Cracow were not only economic but also artistic and social centres of importance for the development of Poland. Between the 14th and 18th century, the role of the Church as an artistic treasury changed from a safe repository for relics to a space for art; important lithurgical objects and books as well as paintings and sculptures will be on show in the exhibition. Both the royal court and the aristocracy are further cristalisation points for exceptional and outstanding artworks.
Besides paintings, the exhibition will include tapestries and carpets, centre-pieces and suits-of-armour. Around 1800, enlightened aristocrats set up art galeries and early examples of museums, which will also be on show in the exhibition.
Press release
Information
Selected Objects