The monumental work, whose title translates as "divine Poland kidnapped by secular Europe," was commissioned from Starowieyski by the Polish government.
It was executed in 1998 and put on permanent display at Poland’s Permanent Representation in the Belgian capital. In 2011, during the office’s transfer to its present location at Schuman Roundabout, the painting was placed in a storeroom and has remained there since.
Poland’s ambassador to the EU, Andrzej Sadoś, has now told state news agency PAP: "After over a decade the painting Divina Polonia Rapta Per Europa Profana returns where it belongs. A legendary work of art, it will be displayed by the main entrance.”
In the painting, Starowieyski referred to the classical myth of the god Zeus falling in love with the princess Europa. The work depicts Europa abducted by Zeus disguised as a bull, holding a personification of Poland in her hand.
O Photo: PAP/Wiktor Dąbkowski
Polish art critics have described Starowieyski’s canvas as a symbolic representation of the contrast between secular Europe and "holy" Poland, and, in a more general sense, of the two different historical experiences of Eastern and Western Europe.
Born in 1930, Franciszek Starowieyski was a renowned painter, graphic artist, cartoonist, set designer, and art collector. He won numerous prestigious international awards, primarily for his posters.
He died in 2009.
(mk/gs)