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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. |
Did you know that Wawel inspires When the seizure of Wawel Castle was announced by the military authorities of Austria for the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria and the Duchy of Kraków, it provoked a heated debate that carried on until the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. The debate concerned the possible future function of Wawel Castle. This debate has become an inspiration for the local artistic community and has resulted in many visionary projects focused on the rebuilding of Wawel Castle. Today, the stature of Wawel on the list of Polish monuments is not in doubt. However, the Castle still attracts the attention of contemporary artists and continues to generate new, often surprising, interpretations. |
Did you know that Beyond time. On the restoration of Wawel Castle Authenticity has become a growing need of the contemporary world. Although the concept itself is hard to define, it has become one of the main criteria of quality with respect to cultural heritage issues. We think about authenticity while appreciating a historic object. We want to know what is genuine and authentic, we strive for a tangible connection with the past. Over the last two centuries, conservators, historians and architects have tried to respond to this need by defining, in different ways, the concept of historical truth present in architecture. From Eugène Viollet-le-Duc (1814–1879), who strived to achieve stylistic purity, though frequently followed his own idea of the medieval form, to those who opposed him: Alois Riegl (1858–1905) of the Viennese school and Max Dvořák (1874–1921), the future head of the Central Commission, who negated any interference in historic layers, recognising their equal value to one another. |
Did you know that Walery Rzewuski’s atelier — photo laboratories in the 2nd half of the 19th century Walery Rzewuski’s atelier was one of the most famous photo laboratories in the 2nd half of the 19th century in Kraków. The atelier was fully equipped and the owner’s fame, resulting in financial success, allowed him to build a house which was a part of a photographic entourage, and which was arranged with great care. The residence with a garden at Kolejowa Street in Kraków (today’s Westerplatte Street) was designed according to the latest architectural trends. |
Did you know that The Hospital of the Holy Spirit Located in the south-eastern part of the Biecz hill, it is the oldest preserved hospital building in Poland. |
 Janek Simon, “Ryugyong Hotel” Janek Simon’s interests include theories and models as well as scientific disciplines, such as geography and economics, which are subject to evolution along with civilizational changes. His works have an experimental and anarchic character, reflecting the clash of scientific theories with the reality of everyday life. His works are prototypes, models, and complicated electronic systems, created according to the principle Do It Yourself by the artists himself. He incessantly seeks extra-systemic solutions, which allow him to break away from contemporary art of a capitalist character. |
 Sculpture “Circus” by Alina Ślesińska The late 1950s and the early 1960s was the heyday of the Polish modern sculpture which, after the ignoble period of the socialist realism rule, renewed its relations with current tendencies present in international art. It was a period of creative activity of many distinguished sculptresses. |
 Orawa peasant cottage An architectural 1:10 model, a replica of a real cottage in Górna Orawa, created in the former modelling studio of the Ethnographic Museum in Kraków. It represents a rural hut with a single row of rooms, with a long side facing the road, used both for residential and livestock-keeping. |
 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. |
 “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. |
 Painting “View of Mikołajska's Gate” by Teodor Baltazar Stachowicz This is a view of a part of Mikołajska Street, closed by Mikołajska's Gate. On the left, you can see the characteristic window grates and the gutter protruding on the street, and, on the right, a fragmentary view of the Church of Our Lady of the Snows in Gródek can be seen. The gate is covered with a tent roof with a break—the hole in the base is topped with a sharp arch. |
 Painting “City Hall north view” by Teodor Baltazar Stachowicz The view shows the edifice of the city hall on the Main Square in Kraków, according to its state before its demolition in 1820. In the foreground, you can see the Renaissance part of the complex with the characteristic attic; on the left, the upper parts of the city hall tower. |
Did you know that Kraków Workshops The year 1913 signalled the transition from theory to practice in Polish pattern-design, the origins of which date back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In Kraków, a group of artists, craftsmen and architects joined forces with the Society of Polish Applied Arts to create the Kraków Workshops Association. |
 “The monastery of SS. Norbertine” This photograph presents a view of the convent complex from the south-east side, from the bank of the Vistula. On the right, we see a silhouette of the church facade, with a roof with a turret for a signature, next to a clock tower with a high dome. From the left side, there is a complex of convent buildings with an elongated wing from the south; from the front, there is a high wall... |
 “Block of flats being constructed — Kraków, Nowa Huta” The photograph shows four people: two women, a man, and a boy. They look at the excavator digging the soil out for the foundations and loading it onto the truck. On the right, there is a young woman wearing a braid with a briefcase in her hand, standing with her back turned on the right side of the frame, and a man in a suit. |
 “Kraków’s architecture. City Hall at Wolnica Square” The photograph presents a view of Wolnica Square. In the foreground of the photograph stands the city hall of Kazimierz (today the Ethnographic Museum), with the tower and gable of the Corpus Christi Church, tenements at Krakowska Street and tall deciduous trees in the background. |
 “Kraków’s architecture. Photomontage: white plane of the Main Market Square” Photomontage: a white plane of the Main Market Square, the Adam Mickiewicz Monument, the Cloth Hall, outlines of the Wawel Castle and churches — all made of black paper columns with white letters overprinted. What draws our attention is the calendar page dated “March 8, International Women’s Day.” |
 “Kraków’s architecture. The Cloth Hall in Kraków” The photograph shows a view of the Cloth Hall from the side of the Adam Mickiewicz monument and the St. Mary’s Basilica. There are interesting details: in the background behind the Cloth Hall you can see the dome of the town hall tower with many passers-by in front of the building. There are the umbrellas of the stalls selling flowers, many pigeons and a tree. The foreground features the pavement slabs from the 1960s . On the ground and in the upper parts of the monuments there are thick white painted lines, standing out from the grey and black. |
 Photograph “Ludowy Theatre” by Henryk Hermanowicz The black and white photograph shows the building of the Ludowy Theatre in Kraków-Nowa Huta from the side of the main entrance on Władimira Majakowskiego Street (today: Obrońców Krzyża Street). |
 Nicolas Grospierre, “The House Which Grows” The project by Nicolas Grospierre, The house which grows, tackles the problem of the gap between aesthetics and the functionality of architecture. In his work, the artist is interested in forms of modernist architecture and in how the very possibility of establishing universal public housing led to the fall of this utopian project. |
