27 September 2024 – 26 January 2025



Józef Chełmoński is a highly regarded painter whose work enjoys a special place in the history of Polish art. For over one hundred years now, his images of nature, views of the countryside and scenes of village life have been considered the essence of “Polishness” captured in paintings from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. As a Romanticist, a man with a fiery temperament, a great vital force and a sense of humour, Chełmoński created his art by following his instinct and intuition, independently of any movement. His extraordinary perceptivity allowed him to recollect even the most ephemeral of impressions and preserve them on canvas.



The exhibition’s narrative will reflect key areas of Chełmoński’s interests, showing him as a chronicler of daily countryside life, a great admirer of horses – their beauty, personality and the graceful power of their movements –and a sensitive observer of nature who also noticed its spiritual, religious and mystical dimension. Such an arrangement will provide opportunities for fresh critical reflection on Chełmoński’s art.



This exhibition will culminate a research project conducted jointly by the National Museums in Warsaw, Poznań and Kraków. It will be accompanied by a complete catalogue of Józef Chełmoński’s paintings.



curators: Ewa Micke-Broniarek, Wojciech Głowacki