The unique collection was unveiled at a news conference at the Royal Castle on Thursday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Culture Minister Piotr Gliński said that Kyiv’s National Museum of Art “has decided to transfer its 38 most valuable artworks to be stored and showcased at Warsaw's Royal Castle.”
He added: “It’s the biggest and most precious collection of Dutch, Italian and Spanish art in Ukraine.”
'An expression of trust'
Gliński said the Kyiv museum had decided to transfer its exhibits abroad after its building was shelled by Russian forces.
In October, a Russian missile exploded in front of the National Museum of Art and damaged the facade of the building, smashing all the windows, according to officials.
Gliński said: “The fact that we can show these artworks in Warsaw, that they came here, reflects the temperature of Polish-Ukrainian relations. It’s an expression of trust.”
'38 wonderful art objects'
Gliński said the collection comprised “38 wonderful art objects,” never before shown in Poland, including Portrait of Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski Dressed as Henry IV, a 1797 depiction of the Polish king by Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun.
Moreover, there are paintings by Italian Renaissance and Baroque masters such as Jacopo del Sellaio, Giovanni Francesco Barbieri and Michelangelo Pace, the PAP news agency reported.
Also in the collection are canvases by Dutch painters, including Peter Paul Rubens’ God of the Scheldt River, Cybele and the Goddess of the City of Antwerp, according to officials.
Spanish art is represented by Juan de Zurbarán’s Still Life with a Chocolate Grinder, and there are also Renaissance wedding chests from Italy, cassone, as well as a Venetian sedan chair and French court tables, guéridon, the PAP news agency reported.
Warsaw's Royal Castle plans to bring these artworks to the public in an exhibition scheduled for next year, according to officials.
Thursday is day 449 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, gov.pl
