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 “A fragment of the design of a mural” by Karol Kamieński The painter Karol Kamieński, also mistakenly called Dominik, was the son of Maciej Kamieński, a Polish composer of Slovakian origin. We have sparse information about the artist’s life. What is known is that in 1792 he lived at Piwna Street in Warsaw. Thanks to the help of his father, he managed to find his way into the court of King Stanisław August Poniatowski. |
 “Niobe’s Head” by Samuel Hirszenberg Samuel Hirszenberg studied at the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts under Feliks Szynalewski, Izydor Jabłoński, and Władysław Łuszczkiewicz since 1881. In February 1882, in the second term of his studies, being an extremely talented student, he was moved up to the second year by the professors. At the same time, he proved his abilities... |
 “Stanisław Lem — Lifelike” — a drawing by Andrzej Wajda In the collection of the Manggha Museum, there are 242 portraits by Andrzej Wajda in the Familiar faces series. One of them is a drawing signed by the author — Stanisław Lem — Lifelike. Indeed, the author has captured the resemblance perfectly using hatching and many strong lines, as in the case of the many other drawings of the series sketched on notebook pages or graph paper. |
 Dan Perjovschi, “MOCAK Kraków Notebook” Minimalism of style and verbal content, linked by an ingenious concept. The drawings allude to social, economic and artistic issues. The stance is critical: witty but also marked by bitterness. |
 “Interior view of the Franciscan cloisters in Kraków” by Ferdynand Olesiński Ferdynand Olesiński received the second competition prize of 20 guilders in 1875, awarded by the management of the Society of Friends of Fine Arts for a perspective drawing. Olesiński then made a pencil sketch depicting the cloisters at the Franciscan church in Kraków. Perspective drawing was one of the subjects taught at the second branch of the School of Fine Arts in Kraków. The students also learned drawing still life, copying and drawing head contours. |
 “A man’s head” by Antoni Jezierski Antoni Jezierski (1859–1939) is one of Jan Matejko’s students. He studied in 1878–1882 at the School of Fine Arts in Kraków and then, after returning from a scholarship in Italy, he enrolled in 1884 at the Composition Section run by Jan Matejko. |
 “Study of the ancient bust” by Wilhelm Moszyński Little is known about Wilhelm Moszyński. He was born in Zaborów and died prematurely probably before the end of 1885. During the period 1875–1880 he was a student at the School of Fine Arts in Kraków. |
 “Anatomical study of muscles” by Ferdynand Olesiński Ferdynand Olesiński, from a family of Wieliczka [the centre of salt mining] miners, was educated during the period 1871–1883 at the Kraków School of Fine Arts under the direction of Florian Cynk, Leopold Loeffler, Feliks Szynalewski, Henryk Grabowski, Izydor Jabłoński, and above all Jan Matejko and Władysław Łuszczkiewicz. He was a distinguished student who won praise and rewards. |
 “Male nude figure” by Adam Ciopcio-Siemianowicz Adam Siemianowicz (family name: Ciopcio) was born in 1902 in Orenburg on the Ural River in the Russian Empire. The future painter was the son of Szymon Ciopcio and Julia née Abramik, peasants from Podlasie exiled to the Urals in 1888. The boy began to paint while still in Orenburg. At that time, he usually painted postimpressionism-styled landscapes. |
 “Study of a young boy’s bust” by Antoni Jezierski Antoni Jezierski was born in 1859 in Ikhrovytsa in the former Tarnopol district (now Ukraine). After finishing lower secondary school in Lviv, in 1878–1882 he studied at the School of Fine Arts in Kraków. During the study at the School of Fine Arts, Jezierski’s works won 4 awards. The young painter also received a scholarship, thanks to which he was able to travel to Italy, where he visited Venice, Bologna, Florence and Rome. During his stay in Italy, Jezierski copied frescos and paintings. After returning to Kraków during the period 1884–1887, he continued his studies at the School of Fine Arts at the composition school of Jan Matejko. In 1890, thanks to another scholarship, he continued his education at the Munich academy. After returning to Poland, he created works in various cities in Russia. He died in 1939 in Lviv. |
 “Golden Pavillon in Kyoto” — a drawing by Andrzej Wajda On 10 November 1987, Andrzej Wajda received the Kyoto Prize for his lifetime achievements in the field of the arts. During a few days spent in Kyoto, the former capital city of Japan, he sketched more than a dozen drawings depicting the places he had visited. They included two views of Kinkakuji (Jap. “Golden Pavillon”), one of the most exquisite places of the city. The name of the building is derived from the decoration of the walls which are covered with petals of gold. |
 “Fish” — a drawing by Andrzej Wajda In Japan, carps are a symbol identified with boys, who wish to become as strong and persistent as those fish. Each year, during Japanese Children's Day, which formerly was solely Boys' Day, parents hang kites on flagpoles located near their houses resembling wind socks that indicate the strength and direction of the wind. They are in the shape of carps, and the colour of each carp is related to the person it symbolises: the black carp is for the father, the red one — for mother, other colours are for children. According to old beliefs, flags are hung high in order to attract the attention of protective gods that are high in the sky. |
 “Kiyomizu-dera, the Shrine of Clear Water” by Andrzej Wajda In Kyoto, the former imperial capital city, you can find Kiyomizu–dera (清水寺), a complex of Buddhist shrines whose name derives from the waterfall of the river flowing on the hillside of Mount Higashiyama. The main pavilion of the shrine is dedicated to Goddess Kannon (a bodhisattva personifying compassion), and it is one of the most popular tourist attractions, famous for its vantage point based on a six-storey structure. Crowds of visitors come to this place both in spring, when the cherry trees are in bloom, and in autumn, when the maple leaves turn red. |
 Two creative sketches of the Manggha building by Arata Isozaki According to legend, when Andrzej Wajda received a prize from the Inamori Foundation and promised that he would spend this prize on a new “house” of the Far East art collection, Arata Isozaki, the architect, declared that he would prepare the design of the future centre and donate it as a gift. And so it happened. |
 Drawing for the performance “Wielopole, Wielopole” by Tadeusz Kantor This invaluable drawing presents the scene: “Properly handling the invention of Mr. Daguerre: the military way” of the first act of the work, Wielopole, Wielopole, directed by Tadeusz Kantor.
The drawing has watermarks. The composition was made with ink and pencil and placed in a black cardboard passe-partout. The outline of the female photographer is marked in black ink. The woman is absorbed in the action of photographing/shooting. |
 “Fugu” — a drawing by Andrzej Wajda The fish depicted in the drawing is fugu (Latin Takifugu rubripes — a pufferfish), famous for the poison which can be found in its entrails (in particular, in its liver and ovaries), and spawn. The poison is tetrodotoxin, whose toxicity is many times stronger than the toxicity of cyanide. Because of the risk one takes while eating dishes made of fugu, this fish has a crowd of enthusiasts — those who gladly order fugu dishes prepared by qualified chefs, and artists who think about this fish as a motif in films and literature, an instrument of crime or suicide... |
 Painting “Caricature of Stanislaw Witkiewicz” by Kazimierz Sichulski A well-known Polish proverb says that laughter is good for you. Hence, ancient theatre already knew comedies and the art of caricature. Artur Schrőder wrote that the caricature "must recreate the real, true features of the model, exaggerated and accentuated in a specific, comical way, but in a way that the audience could easily recognise. A caricaturist must be an excellent psychologist." |
 Painting “Caricature of Jacek Malczewski” by Kazimierz Sichulski Zakopane, located at the foot of the Tatra Mountains, surrounded by a picturesque landscape, used to be a paradise for all kinds of artists. Besides inspirations they could come across at every turn, they could also experience true creative and intellectual freedom there. |
 “Naked young man” by Stanisław Radziejowski Stanisław Józef Rafał Dominik Radziejowski was born to a landowning family in Zegartowice near Wieliczka. He probably started studying at the School of Fine Arts in Kraków in the academic year 1874/1875 and he is thought to have only studied for one year. However, this information has not been confirmed. Certainly, Radziejowski studied at the School of Fine Arts during the period 1880–1885 and 1888–1891 in the composition department of Jan Matejko. During his studies, he received several awards... |
 “Interior design” by Karol Kamieński The painter Karol Kamieński, also mistakenly called Dominik, was the son of Maciej Kamieński, a Polish composer of Slovakian origin. We have sparse information about the artist’s life. What is known is that in 1792 he lived at Piwna Street in Warsaw. Thanks to the help of his father, he managed to find his way into the court of King Stanisław August Poniatowski. |
