DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.29195#0126
Warsaw's
first art
exhibitions
Fig. 110. Title page of the catalogue for the
University of Warsaw's 1825 art exhibition;
BUW
134
display a picture in it-and that was it. One could, but it was not worth it, thepublic was
coming to ignore it and was far more interested in Unger's gallery; and above all, anyone
who wanted to buy a picture went not to the old exhibition, but to Unger s.
Before we move on to an account of the activities of Unger’s gallery, the weekly
Tygodnik Ilustrowany and the other periodicals, art shops, and cultural institutions
associated with the Potocki Palace in the latter half of the 19th century, we shall
give a brief outline of the history ofWarsaw’s public art exhibitions. Such exposi-
tions were to a large extent dependent on the operations of an art college. Not even
a patron as magnanimous as King Stanislaw August managed to found an institu-
tion fully meeting these expectations. Nonetheless his collections of drawings and
plaster-casts of ancient artworks, and his ideas for a future art college gave rise to
the foundations of an institution which was finally established largely thanks to
Stanislaw Kostka Potocki, the illustrious master of our Palace. In 1808-1818, when
Potocki was Minister of Public Education and the University ofWarsaw was found-
ed, the plans for an art college were put into practice. It was called the Oddzial
Sztuk Pifknych (Fine Arts Department), and was an integral unit of the University’s
Faculty of Arts and Sciences. It had its own building, collections, and studios.
In 1817—1830 Warsaw was truly a city of the arts. A national art was developing
at the University, and being displayed at public exhibitions which attracted crowds
of visitors. In 1881-1896 the gallery set up in the court of the Potocki Palace played
a similar role. We shall therefore devote some attention to Warsaw’s earliest art ex-
hibitions and the Zach^ta.
The first real exhibition of the fine arts on Polish territories was held in 1819, in
the familiar university buildings near the Potocki Palace. Subsequent exhibitions
were held every two years in various buildings on the campus, such as the vice-rec-
tor’s building (1819), the fine arts pavilion (1821 and 1823), and the mineralogical
building (1828). All of them were tremendous successes. Visitors were so eager to
purchase the catalogues published for them that sometimes they even had to run
into two re-issues (Figs. 110-111). One of the papers described the opening of the
1819 exhibition as follows: Ofthe many benefits which the Monarch [Alexander I]
has granted us, the foundation ofthe University ofWarsaw may justly be regarded as
a characteristic reflecting his soul and way ofthinking. Young Poles are no longer obliged
to travel abroadfor the light ofeducation, and are able to acquire all they need by way
of enlightenment in their own country. It is quite right to consider thefirst exhibition of
the fine arts, the fruits of painting, drawing, and carving done by our compatriots, as
one ofthe highlights in the history ofthe said University. Like other enlightened nations,
we have seen paintings and sculptures, delivered unto public judgement, and many
a visitor who had thought that talent had to be sought abroad was proved wrong when
he saw them (Kozakiewicz 1952, p. 29).
It would be hard to overestimate the documentary value for the period of a paint-
ing by Wincenty Kasprzycki, a work absolutely in a class of its own for Polish 19th-
century art. It shows the exhibition of 1828, which was held in the mineralogical
building (now the University of Warsaw Faculty of Polish Studies). Antoni Blank
served as its curator. Kasprzycki depicted the exhibited pictures and Warsaw’s prin-
cipal painters with well-nigh photographic fidelity. Among the artists visiting the