DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.23631#0076
POLISH APPLIED ART IN THE 19TH CENTURY
With the third and last partition carried out in 1795 by Russia, Prussia and Austria, Poland ceased to
exist as an independent state and the Polish people found themselves in radically different conditions which
exercised a predominant influence on every sphere of life. The disappearance of Poland from the map of
Europe inevitably entailed the end of Sarmatian ideology and way of life, already eroded during the
period of Enlightenment and general social progress. However through force of inertia Sarmatian culture
continued in existence during the first decades of the 19th century, but it was subdued, withdrawn and
lacking its former swagger and bluster. The vast magnate estates in the east, the mainstay of Sarmatism,
were in ruin, impoverished members of the gentry began moving to towns, where they formed, together
with the enlightened burghers, a new social class — the intelligentsia. Another new social class, the
bourgeoisie, was taking shape with its own specific customs, aims and ambitions. The system of production
changed radically. With the abdication of Stanislaus Augustus, his patronage over the arts and artistic
crafts, which had borne such abundant fruit, came to a dramatic end. Manufactories controlled by the
magnates were closing down, the character of guilds in towns was changing. Manufactories gradually
turned into factories aiming at large-scale production and high profits for their owners. The working class,
the proletariat, was emerging. Goods produced in factories differed fundamentally from objects which
had been the handiwork of craftsmen.
The struggle for restoration of national independence, which began immediately after the overthrow
of the Polish state and was to continue until 1918, wrought profound changes in the national mind and
awareness. Polish participation in the French revolution and the Napoleonic wars, the short-lived indepen-
dent Duchy of Warsaw under the protection of Imperial France, national risings, each ending in disaster,
followed by massive emigration, mostly to France, brought the Polish nation in close touch with European
policy and new ideas prevailing in the West. Despite closely guarded frontiers, Poles in the three partition
zones maintained close contact with each other, preserving their national identity and their sense of
spiritual unity. These close ties were facilitated by an unprecedented development of culture in every
field — in literature, music, painting, the theatre and artistic crafts. Thanks to a rapid circulation of ideas
the individual partition zones quickly adopted the successive styles and fashions, from the Directoire
style, through the Empire, English Regency, Biedermeier, Louis-Philippe, Victorian, late 19th century
historicism, the Second Rococo, to Gothic Revival and Neo-Renaissance styles — all of them tinged
with influences from Paris, London, Vienna or St. Petersburg. The same was true of the Art Nouveau
popular towards the end of the 19th century.
As regards crafts, polonization continued throughout the 19th century. At the same time differences
became more pronounced between pure artistic objects of craftsmanship and objects of daily use.
As in other countries, rivalry and conflict developed between handmade wares and factory products.
The French were first to modernize vocational training: by a decision of the Convention, an institution
named the Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers was formed m Paris in 1794 and soon acquired
a large collection of works on artistic craftsmanship. This was followed by various industrial schools and
vocational training courses which were opened in Paris in the first half of the 19th century. However the
most important role in this respect was played by England where the Industrial Revolution provoked
vehement reaction on the part of defenders of the old order. The English critic and essayist John Ruskin
(18 19—1900), representative of the late stage of Romanticism, linked with the Pre-Raphaelite Brother-
hood, was absolutely opposed to industrialization. Aiming to restore its former high rank and dignity
to craftsmanship, he condemned the entire system of factories and machinery, refusing to accept even
With the third and last partition carried out in 1795 by Russia, Prussia and Austria, Poland ceased to
exist as an independent state and the Polish people found themselves in radically different conditions which
exercised a predominant influence on every sphere of life. The disappearance of Poland from the map of
Europe inevitably entailed the end of Sarmatian ideology and way of life, already eroded during the
period of Enlightenment and general social progress. However through force of inertia Sarmatian culture
continued in existence during the first decades of the 19th century, but it was subdued, withdrawn and
lacking its former swagger and bluster. The vast magnate estates in the east, the mainstay of Sarmatism,
were in ruin, impoverished members of the gentry began moving to towns, where they formed, together
with the enlightened burghers, a new social class — the intelligentsia. Another new social class, the
bourgeoisie, was taking shape with its own specific customs, aims and ambitions. The system of production
changed radically. With the abdication of Stanislaus Augustus, his patronage over the arts and artistic
crafts, which had borne such abundant fruit, came to a dramatic end. Manufactories controlled by the
magnates were closing down, the character of guilds in towns was changing. Manufactories gradually
turned into factories aiming at large-scale production and high profits for their owners. The working class,
the proletariat, was emerging. Goods produced in factories differed fundamentally from objects which
had been the handiwork of craftsmen.
The struggle for restoration of national independence, which began immediately after the overthrow
of the Polish state and was to continue until 1918, wrought profound changes in the national mind and
awareness. Polish participation in the French revolution and the Napoleonic wars, the short-lived indepen-
dent Duchy of Warsaw under the protection of Imperial France, national risings, each ending in disaster,
followed by massive emigration, mostly to France, brought the Polish nation in close touch with European
policy and new ideas prevailing in the West. Despite closely guarded frontiers, Poles in the three partition
zones maintained close contact with each other, preserving their national identity and their sense of
spiritual unity. These close ties were facilitated by an unprecedented development of culture in every
field — in literature, music, painting, the theatre and artistic crafts. Thanks to a rapid circulation of ideas
the individual partition zones quickly adopted the successive styles and fashions, from the Directoire
style, through the Empire, English Regency, Biedermeier, Louis-Philippe, Victorian, late 19th century
historicism, the Second Rococo, to Gothic Revival and Neo-Renaissance styles — all of them tinged
with influences from Paris, London, Vienna or St. Petersburg. The same was true of the Art Nouveau
popular towards the end of the 19th century.
As regards crafts, polonization continued throughout the 19th century. At the same time differences
became more pronounced between pure artistic objects of craftsmanship and objects of daily use.
As in other countries, rivalry and conflict developed between handmade wares and factory products.
The French were first to modernize vocational training: by a decision of the Convention, an institution
named the Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers was formed m Paris in 1794 and soon acquired
a large collection of works on artistic craftsmanship. This was followed by various industrial schools and
vocational training courses which were opened in Paris in the first half of the 19th century. However the
most important role in this respect was played by England where the Industrial Revolution provoked
vehement reaction on the part of defenders of the old order. The English critic and essayist John Ruskin
(18 19—1900), representative of the late stage of Romanticism, linked with the Pre-Raphaelite Brother-
hood, was absolutely opposed to industrialization. Aiming to restore its former high rank and dignity
to craftsmanship, he condemned the entire system of factories and machinery, refusing to accept even