The new exhibition is titled Masterpieces for the King? Rubens, Van Dyck, Teniers II from the collections of Dulwich Picture Gallery, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
As the name suggests, the showcase brings together some outstanding paintings from London’s Dulwich Picture Gallery, never before seen in Poland.
Rubens, Teniers, van Dyck
The five artworks are: Portrait of a Lady by Peter Paul Rubens, Madonna and Child by Anthony van Dyck, Peasants Conversing by David Teniers the Younger, The Judgement of Paris by Adriaen van der Werff and Soldiers Playing Dice by Salvatore Rosa.
What they have in common, apart from being regarded as masterpieces of 17th and 18th century European painting, is that all were bought in the late 18th century for the extensive collection of the then Polish King Stanislaus II Augustus.
However, due to political upheaval, which led to the king’s forced abdication at the hands of Russia, and Poland’s disappearance from the map for 123 years, these works by Dutch, Flemish and Italian masters never reached Poland.
Now they have been brought to the Polish audience, thanks to the new exhibition at the Royal Łazienki Museum, co-financed by Poland’s Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
In a letter read out at the show’s launch on Friday, Deputy Prime Minister and Culture Minister Piotr Gliński hailed the masterpieces, describing the exhibition as “immensely intriguing,” the PAP news agency reported.
Masterpieces for the King? Rubens, Van Dyck, Teniers II from the collections of Dulwich Picture Gallery runs until December 1.
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Source: PAP, lazienki-krolewskie.pl