View of the Gothic Gallery in the Wilanów Palace

In 1805 Stanisław Kostka Potocki, the owner of Wilanów at that time, opened to the public his art collection amassed in Wilanów Palace. In accordance with his will, the museum was accessible to all visitors. Works representing assorted styles and historical epochs were not only to serve education, but also to mould the aesthetic tastes of contemporary Poles. The Gothic Gallery was a part of that museum, designed for displaying the collection of European painting. It existed to the 1850s, when it was rebuilt in neo-renaissance style.