Not Only Lady

Building the first collection was started by the Princess Izabela Czartoryska of Flemming.

The idea of establishing this this sentimental collection in Puławy was influenced by events that led to the fall of Poland in 1795, and subsequent struggles of Poles
for independence.

In 1801 construction of the Temple of Sybil has been completed. According to mythology, Sibyl was to be a prophet guarding the memory and prophecies of ancient Rome.

Choosing her as the patron of the museum was not accidental - princess Izabela like the Sibyls was to become the prophetess of the Polish nation, guarding his memory.

In the the Temple of the Sybil, Princess included souvenirs of figures distinguished for Poland.

The exhibition presented collection of souvenirs from the time of greatest splendor of the state and was to remind Poles of the glory of the Commonwealth in difficult times of partitions - this was expressed by the inscription above the entrance to the building - "the past of the future".

In 1812 Czartorscy divided the property between his descendants. The collection of souvenirs was rewritten to the eldest son Adam Jerzy Czartoryski.

After the fall of the November Uprising,Prince Adam Jerzy was forced to emigrate. He settled permanently in the Hôtel Lambert in Paris.

Izabela's collector's passion was shared by her grandson Władysław, on whose initiative in 1874 the Museum of the Czartoryski Princes was established in Krakow.

For this purpose, the city government donated an old arsenal with the joinery and carpentery towers, then Klasztorek - the building of the old piarist Collegium Novum.

Władysław sought to create a cultural institution -research facility with a research profile at the Museum. The place available to the public was to be favorable to conducting studies on the cultural heritage of Poland and the world in general.

The first half of the 20th century was a time of anxiety and changes in the museum. During II World War, most of the monuments from the so-called The Royal Casket (the collection of souvenirs of Polish kings collected by Izabela) has been lost forever. The portrait of Young Man by Rafael Santi also disappeared.

In the post-war times, the institution was taken care of the National Museum in Krakow and was open to visitors until 2009, when a comprehensive renovation began.

The current arrangement corresponds to the traditional message of the museum - shows memorabilia of the past collected by Princess Izabela. This is expressed by the combination of modern and antique showcases and partial preservation of the former exhibition concept

Composition of the painting is divided into two parts. On the right we can see the oaks, under which the action of the title parable from the gospel of St. Luke takes place.

On the further planes of the picture we can see a carriage moving towards the bridge and small windmills.

The artist also showed a raging storm. The swirling dark clouds have been rendered with a range of dark gray and cold blue.

There is no doubt that Rembrandt's drama of nature goes hand in hand with the parable, being a metaphor for the timeless fight of good against evil.

Naturalia - products of nature, were very popular and often used in the decoration of the dishes of the Mannerist period.

Exotic shells taken from the waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans were highly valued - original, expensive and rare were treated as a unique artistic material.

Nautilus is a beaker made of Nautilus shells with a figurine of Neptune sitting on a ball. The shell was forged in openwork grotesques.

Even a key can be a work of art especially the one that opens the door to the Temple of Memory.

The key to the Temple of the Sibyl in Puławy has the form of a caduceus and was made according to the design of Henry Ittar. Caduceus is an attribute of the god Mercury, a cane crowned with wings and entwined by two snakes.

Mercury had an important role in the ancient world - he was a messenger of the gods, but with the help of the caduceus, he could also lead souls from the beyond.

In 1809, it seemed that the time of leading souls from the beyond just arrived. This year, the Duchy of Warsaw started the war with Austria, but before actual military operations Prince Jerzy Poniatowski went to Puławy, where he was greeted by the duchess's march.Procession of the Puławy set out to meet the Polish forces liberating West Galicia. Its participants carried souvenirs of the great leaders of old Poland. The procession was closed by Princess Isabella herself, like a mythical prophetess, carrying the key to the Temple of Sibyl in her hands.

According to tradition, the banner from the beginning of the 17th century was called the banner of the Tsar Szujski. It was believed that it was captured by Żółkiewski in the battle of Kłuszyn during the Moscow campaign. Today we know that the banner does not come from 1610, because the border surrounding the main stage was created around the years 20 or 30 of the 17th century.

It was an important trophy decorating the Temple of Sibyl with swords from Grunwald
and trophies from Vienna.

On the obverse of the banner, the Virgin Mary with the Child is shown in the traditional Ruthenian type "You enjoy all creation," enriched with additional iconographic threads. Maria is both queen and mother. Master and Mother of God.

The iconographic program is an expression of faith in Mary's special protection over the state, propagated by the Moscow court.

The portrait of Izabela Czartoryska is one of the greatest achievements of Kazimierz Wojnakowski
in the field of portrait art.

We can see shoulder-length model that was shown on a gray neutral background from which her outfit, in the artist's favorite red color, clearly stands out.

The floral shawl is reminiscent of a half-folk costume, probably gypsy, which had to do with the Puławy theater, in which Izabela Czartoryska took an active part as an actress in the plays of "Gypsies" by Franciszek Dionize Kniaźnin.

At the portrait, the model's beautiful, dark eyes draw attention. They are a real decoration of the face and overshadow various beauty flaws, which Wojniakowski has not overlooked, including too wide lips, big nose and gray hair.

Netscher, a Dutch painter, was a popular portraitist of court circles.
He specialized in small-format portraits in which he carefully reproduced the rich
and elegant outfits of their models.

A portrait of a boy in Polish costume in Puławy was considered the portrait of Prince Zygmunt Kazimierz, son of King Władysław IV and Cecylia Renata, who died at the age of 8.

This seems unlikely, because the boy's image from the Netscher painting is different from other known and confirmed portraits of the prince.

The boy on the Krakow portrait of Netscher could have been a child of a Polish diplomat
in The Hague or only a model dressed in an polish outfit that is exotic for the Dutch.

Dutch interest in Polish culture resulted primarily from close trade relations between the two countries. We also know that some of the Polish nobility of the Protestant religion are sending their sons to study in the Netherlands.

Remarkably interesting in the context of the Museum's collections are the souvenirs that are the foundations of representatives of the dynasty ruling in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Particularly interesting is a series of miniature portraits of representatives of the last Jagiellonians on the Polish throne, made in the studio of Lucas Cranach the younger.

Similarities of the members of the Jagiellon dynasty with their representative form on the one hand can be an artistic source of the Old Polish portrait, on the other they are propaganda tools and a manifestation of the majesty of rulers

The group consists of ten jointly framed miniatures painted with oil paint on copper sheets. They are all marked with the image of a winged dragon - the signature of the Cranach workshop of Wittemberg.

In 1863, Jan Matejko began to create a painting "Polonia 1863". The work was never completed.
It is an allegorical vision of the fall of the January Uprising (1863-1864).

Young woman in a funeral dress, with her hands laid on the anvil visible in the middle , personifies Poland. The woman in white torn away by violence is a personification of Rus.

Lying in a pool of blood at the feet of tsarist officers, the body of a partially exposed woman is the embodiment of Lithuania.

Polonia is Matejko's only painting touching the subject of contemporary events for the artist, but treating them in a symbolic-allegorical way.

The "Annunciation" scene, by Master Jerzy operating in Krakow at the beginning of the 16th century, was the central part of the triptych from the collegiate church of St. Michał on the Wawel Hill. The painting remained on Wawel until its discovery in 1803 by Princess Izabela Czartoryska.

In the picture, the artist combined the tradition of medieval painting with attempts to introduce innovative solutions. Using a golden background and a hieratic perspective, he was closer to the Gothic painting, introducing the landscape, elements of still life and antiquizing column – closer to modernity.

A dove of the Holy Spirit hovers over Maria's head. A figure of a small Jesus with a cross on his shoulder flows down throught the golden rays in the Mary direction, indicating the announcement foretelling his future passion.

Other elements of the composition also have meaning. White lilies symbolize the purity of Mary, the yarn can be an allusion to her temple curtain, while the hourglass and unlit candle can be read as a sign of the New Light that will appear with the arrival of the Savior.

The whole composition is complemented by a small figure of the adoring founder - canon Jakub Monopedes.

Image of St. Catherine of Alexandria was originally a part of the monumental triptych from the Krakow church of Paulins on Skałka.

Saint Catherine in Kulmbach's painting is a young girl with a plump face in a rich courtly dress, with a crown and a double string of pearls on light, loose hair.

According to legend, the beautiful and wise Catherine was the Alexandrian princess who began a discussion with fifty philosophers, thus converting them to Christian faith.
She did not want to give up her beliefs and rejected the love of the pagan Emperor Maxentius, who sentenced her to martyrdom by breaking the wheel.

However, when the angel's intervention prevented the imperial order, she was beheaded with the sword. The tools of her passion became the attributes of the saint, but they are invisible in the Krakow painting. These were most likely located at the bottom of the painting, which was cut off.

After removing the altar from the church, individual parts of the triptych were dispersed. Picture from Saint. Catherine was seriously damaged, which contributed to the decision to cut it into an oval.

In 1771, Prince Adam Kazimierz accepted the rank of commander of the Galician Noble Guard.
The guard used uniforms modeled on the Polish costume. It was to perform representative functions at the imperial court, as well as prepare noble youth for military or clerical service.

The preserved work is a great example of the Polish saddle from the time. Thanks to the preserved documents, it is known that it was made between November 1782
and September 1783.

By Warsaw Jewish craftsmen: the embroidery machine Morycz, the "Jew stonemason" - a jeweler polishing yarrow and incrusting it with gold, the goldsmith Sender.

The saddle with the entire row after Prince Adam Kazimierz was placed in the Temple of Sybill in Puławy. After the November Uprising, it was transported to Paris and presented there along with other souvenirs from the Czartoryski collection at the exhibition in 1865.

The shield shows the scene of the battle on the Mulwijski Bridge in 312, fought between the armies of Maxentius and Constantine the Great.

During it, Constantine was to experience a vision during which a sign of the cross appeared among the clouds. He would also hear the words: In hoc signo vinces, meaning: "Under this sign you will win." From the Middle Ages, this legend was interpreted as the triumph of Christianity.

The shield was found on September 9, 1679, during the renovation of the chapel of the Holy Cross
in the cathedral church on Wawel hill. For many, she was regarded as an announcement of Sobieski's future victories in the fight against the Turks.

The work, which was given to the king, was probably taken by him on a trip to Vienna. Later, together with trophies won on the Turks, he placed the shield at the castle in Zhovkva. Her later heir, Prince Dominik Radziwiłł, gave it to the Puławy collection.

Persian art was transplanted to Polish terythory either directly or through Turkish models. All kinds of textiles and upholstery were imported.

The monumental canopy with the image of a paradise garden is divided into eight-pointed stars and rosettes.

In the middle rosette, on the low throne with a book and a handkerchief, sits the Persian ruler Tahmasp I. In other fields were embroidered running or lying animals and angels with musical instruments.

The fabric probably served as the roof of the summer pavilion. This is indicated by both the form and arrangement of decorations as well as the iconographic program, the idea of a paradise garden - a vision of the holy sky.

The painting belongs to a series of five preserved decorative panneau (decorative planes),
once decorating the Czartoryski palace in Powązki.

"Breakfast in the park" - presents a group of elegant ladies and bachelors gathered around a tablecloth spread out on the grass, on which tableware are set for breakfast or afternoon tea. Wine bottles, glasses and a guitar lying on the ground testify that the meal has the character of a longer feast.

Painting his decorative paintings, Jan Piotr Norblin, who was French himself, modeled on his French predecessors, such as Jean-Honoré Fragonard.

The fête galantes (scenes showing the carefree fun of aristocracy) they created reflected the fashion that appeared at the turn of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in France, when the garden became the favorite meeting place for court company.

Netsuke are Japanese miniature sculptures used to attach a small bag, or inrō (a decorative medicine container or a bag for personal seal) to a kimono belt.

There are several types of netsuke, of which the most popular is katabori - the depiction of people
and animals.

Sennin is a Japanese term for an immortal person. The artist, carving in ivory, showed him as a bald old man dressed in a robe with long sleeves in a kimono type, with a branch and a discoid hat on his back.