Gallery of Polish Art of the 20th Century

The two decades between the world wars is a time of coexistence of numerous art groups. The 1st floor exhibit illustrates the diverse phenomena of the time and opens up with works by artists representing the École de Paris, a multinational community of artists of mainly Jewish descent (Eugeniusz Zak, Zygmunt Menkes), works indebted to Fauvism, and the art of German Expressionism. On the left-hand side there are works by artists originating in the avant-garde of the interwar period: Krakow-based Formists (Zbigniew Pronaszko, Leon Dołżycki, Tymon Niesiołowski), artists experimenting with Futurism and Expressionism, as well as the Constructivists active in Łódź and Warsaw (Władysław Strzemiński, Henryk Stażewski, Maria Nicz–Borowiakowa), fascinated by geometry and abstraction. The Poznań element of this part of the exhibit includes works by the Bunt group (Stanisław Kubicki), blending Cubism with religious themes. Apart from numerous groups, small monographs help to single out the major individual artists of the time (Witkacy, Tadeusz Makowski, Artur Nacht-Samborski, Zygmunt Waliszewski, Eugeniusz Zak, Gustaw Gwozdecki, Jan Spychalski). Of special significance also is the prominent presence of women’s art (Maria Nicz-Borowiakowa, Maria Ewa Łunkiewicz-Rogoyska, Zofia Stryjeńska, Mela Muter). The paintings provide a context for sculptures which showcase both avant-garde (Maria Jarema, August Zamoyski) and Neo-Classicist tendencies of the interwar period (Henryk Kuna). The sculpture exhibit is completed by a set of works from the school of Zakopane.

The right-hand side of the exhibit showcases Polish Colourism represented mainly by the Capists, members of the Committee of Paris, former students of the Krakow Academy of Fine Arts active in Paris as of 1924 (Jan Cybis, Hanna Rudzka-Cybisowa, Zygmunt Waliszewski, Józef Czapski, Piotr Potworowski). The layout of this gallery section follows a distinct narrative, as the master-student relations are to depict the linkages (inspirations and contestations) between conservative Colourists and the subsequent generations of contemporary artists.