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DOI Artikel:Wierzbicka, Anna: Wystawy sztuki polskiej we Francji w latach 1921-1939
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.71010#0180
178
Αννα Wierzbicka
image of a powerful country, Poland defending the
West against the 'Eastern onslaught'. It therefore
synthesized the history of Poland previously
unknown in France, until then thought to have been
associated primarily with Sobieski, Mickiewicz, and
Chopin. Focusing on three major dates: 1830, 1920,
and 1930, it was meant to show respective de-
velopments in Poland's history in a way that would
enhance Poles' contribution to defending the West,
and therefore Christianity as well as the Latin
character of Europe. And this exhibition was actually
successful. Having been organized at the right time, at
a prestigious venue, and widely advertised in the
press, it turned out to be one of the few displays that
received an enthusiastic welcome. The 1930 ex-
hibition, also propaganda-wise, was completed with
two subsequent ones mounted respectively in 1933:
Sobieski, King of Poland, in Engravings from the
Period ('Sobieski roi de Pologne d'apres les
estampes de 1'epoque') and in 1935 (then the Polish
Room included documents, letters, armours, uni-
forms, paintings, and prints from the period related
to Poles in the French army in the 17th and 18th
centuries) held for the purpose of the exhibition Two
Centuries of Military Glory 1610-1814 (Deux
Siecles de Gloire Militaire 1610-1814) at the Musee
des arts decoratifs, Pavilion de Marsan, with the
contribution of the Polish Library. All the three: from
1930, 1933, and 1935 respectively, harmonized with
Poland's major diplomatic endeavours, with all the
works having been selected topically and in
accordance with the suggested interpretation. All
were also made events of a political impact. They
represented, however, but a swan song in view of the
events that were to follow.
The task of the Polish Section at the 1937
Exhibition Art and Technology in Modern Life was
to present Poland as a strong, modern country,
pertaining to the Latin tradition. Similarly as in the
course of the earlier exhibitions in 1930-35,
Poland's European character was emphasized, and
that of its people who were related to Latin culture
and immersed in the Western Christian world. Mean-
while, TOSSPO continued focusing on promoting
the myth of Slavic Poland. Polish woodcuts and
Polish folk art remained our major export com-
modity until the outbreak of WW II. Still in 1938,
a committee at the folk art section was established at
TOSSPO, while in the 1930s such Polish exhibitions
on the topic still dominated in France; they were held
by the Les Amis de la Pologne Society which
developed its activity at the time. Moreover, in the
1930s, France was being toured by Polish
exhibitions of graphic art, which, in their majority,
presented works by the same artists. The displays of
Polish graphic art and Polish folk art, organized by
TOSSPO beginning in the mid- 1920s, namely from
the International Exhibition of Decorative and
Industrial Arts, until 1939 were systematically very
popular. They perfectly fitted in the period when
what was national, what signified the distinctness of
a country, was particularly appreciated in France.
France perceived Poland, and wanted to see it, as a
non-Western, Slav-culture country. Interestingly,
graphic art was the domain in which Poles won the
highest success in the interwar period, not only in
France, but also in other European countries and the
United States, where the works by, e.g. Edmund
Bartłomiejczyk, Tadeusz Cieślewski Junior, Stani-
sław Ostoja-Chrostowski, Janina Konarska, Bogna
Krasnodębska, Stefan Mrożewski, and Władysław
Skoczylas were particularly appreciated. Appre-
ciated was not only high-quality craftsmanship, but
also the style that, similarly as in France, was called
'Slavic Style' by reviewers. In the US, the displays
of folk art as well as those of fabrics and tapestries
of ŁAD met with warm welcome. In the eyes of
average Americans the works fitted their stereotype
image ofPolish art, essentially of folk character, and so
did religious and historical scenes. It was similar in
France where in the 1920s tradition and realism were
favoured.
Translated by Magdalena Iwińska
Αννα Wierzbicka
image of a powerful country, Poland defending the
West against the 'Eastern onslaught'. It therefore
synthesized the history of Poland previously
unknown in France, until then thought to have been
associated primarily with Sobieski, Mickiewicz, and
Chopin. Focusing on three major dates: 1830, 1920,
and 1930, it was meant to show respective de-
velopments in Poland's history in a way that would
enhance Poles' contribution to defending the West,
and therefore Christianity as well as the Latin
character of Europe. And this exhibition was actually
successful. Having been organized at the right time, at
a prestigious venue, and widely advertised in the
press, it turned out to be one of the few displays that
received an enthusiastic welcome. The 1930 ex-
hibition, also propaganda-wise, was completed with
two subsequent ones mounted respectively in 1933:
Sobieski, King of Poland, in Engravings from the
Period ('Sobieski roi de Pologne d'apres les
estampes de 1'epoque') and in 1935 (then the Polish
Room included documents, letters, armours, uni-
forms, paintings, and prints from the period related
to Poles in the French army in the 17th and 18th
centuries) held for the purpose of the exhibition Two
Centuries of Military Glory 1610-1814 (Deux
Siecles de Gloire Militaire 1610-1814) at the Musee
des arts decoratifs, Pavilion de Marsan, with the
contribution of the Polish Library. All the three: from
1930, 1933, and 1935 respectively, harmonized with
Poland's major diplomatic endeavours, with all the
works having been selected topically and in
accordance with the suggested interpretation. All
were also made events of a political impact. They
represented, however, but a swan song in view of the
events that were to follow.
The task of the Polish Section at the 1937
Exhibition Art and Technology in Modern Life was
to present Poland as a strong, modern country,
pertaining to the Latin tradition. Similarly as in the
course of the earlier exhibitions in 1930-35,
Poland's European character was emphasized, and
that of its people who were related to Latin culture
and immersed in the Western Christian world. Mean-
while, TOSSPO continued focusing on promoting
the myth of Slavic Poland. Polish woodcuts and
Polish folk art remained our major export com-
modity until the outbreak of WW II. Still in 1938,
a committee at the folk art section was established at
TOSSPO, while in the 1930s such Polish exhibitions
on the topic still dominated in France; they were held
by the Les Amis de la Pologne Society which
developed its activity at the time. Moreover, in the
1930s, France was being toured by Polish
exhibitions of graphic art, which, in their majority,
presented works by the same artists. The displays of
Polish graphic art and Polish folk art, organized by
TOSSPO beginning in the mid- 1920s, namely from
the International Exhibition of Decorative and
Industrial Arts, until 1939 were systematically very
popular. They perfectly fitted in the period when
what was national, what signified the distinctness of
a country, was particularly appreciated in France.
France perceived Poland, and wanted to see it, as a
non-Western, Slav-culture country. Interestingly,
graphic art was the domain in which Poles won the
highest success in the interwar period, not only in
France, but also in other European countries and the
United States, where the works by, e.g. Edmund
Bartłomiejczyk, Tadeusz Cieślewski Junior, Stani-
sław Ostoja-Chrostowski, Janina Konarska, Bogna
Krasnodębska, Stefan Mrożewski, and Władysław
Skoczylas were particularly appreciated. Appre-
ciated was not only high-quality craftsmanship, but
also the style that, similarly as in France, was called
'Slavic Style' by reviewers. In the US, the displays
of folk art as well as those of fabrics and tapestries
of ŁAD met with warm welcome. In the eyes of
average Americans the works fitted their stereotype
image ofPolish art, essentially of folk character, and so
did religious and historical scenes. It was similar in
France where in the 1920s tradition and realism were
favoured.
Translated by Magdalena Iwińska