Between Two Worlds. Art of Poland 1890-1914. Vancouver Art Gallery, June 10 - November 12, 2000

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Undaunted Spirit of a Nation Between Two Worlds: Art of Poland 1890-1914 is an exhibition of more than 100 masterworks from the National Museum in Cracow, presented for the first time in Canada. Colourful, dramatic, intense and sensual, turn-of-the-century Polish art is a unique celebration of Eastern and Western Poland influences.

The exhibition offers an exceptional opportunity to view some of the most magnificent achievements in painting, printmaking, graphic and decorative art, created during a turbulent era when artists fought to define the Polish nation’s identity in the face of foreign oppression.
 

The  Fury of Border Crossings Polish  art exuded emotional intensity as a reaction to invasion and occupation by the three military powers of Russia, Prussia (Germany) and Austria, during the late 18th century until the end of W.W.I. The imperial forces attempted to erase of  the conquered country’s identity – Polish language was banned from official use and the teaching of Polish history and literature was suppressed.

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Uprisings against the occupation were defeated and met with brutal reprisals.
 

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Unable to define itself via foreign political systems, Poland sought the expression of national identity through  its painters, sculptors and writers. Although artists had previously relied on out-of-dated, academic styles to depict crucial episodes from Polish history, the close of the 19th century bristled with intense cultural ferment.

Revolutionary creative and societal movements were sweeping throughout Europe to response to rapid industrialisation. Eager to expand their talents and desirous to steer their culture beyond the feudal system, Polish artists embraced this new modern world. They poised themselves to establish a distinct stylistic identity and a forge a new-found freedom.

Revolution sweeps the Canvas

Following century of struggle against the empires which had divided the country, Poland experienced an incredibly rich period of artistic production in the short span of 1890-1914. During this era, Polish artists participated in the major salons and exhibitions of Paris, Vienna, Brussels and Munich, where dynamic new art movements appeared, radically transforming approaches to art-making in ways that continue to influence artists today.

French artists, such Claude Monet and Auguste Renoir led the Impressionist movement in Paris. Austria’s Gustav Klimt spearheaded Art Nouveau, a form characterised by highly stylised floral patterns which revitalised commercial design in a frenzy of applications to furniture, jewellery, architecture and paintings. Meanwhile, the Symbolist movement, guided by artists such as Paul Gaugin and Vincent van Gogh, was lauded for its ability to express abstract ideas by focusing on colour and visual detail.

Polish artists merged these groundbreaking influences to create their own unique movement called Mloda Polska or Young Poland.

The Art of Freedom

Cracow was the main city in the section of Poland controlled by Austria, the most lenient of the occupying powers. The city’s relative autonomy, which allowed travel between borders combined with a liberal environment, attracted artists and writers yearning to challenge foreign domination.
The Cracow School of Fine Arts, which was reformed in 1895 to teach current ideas in art-making, became a leading institution committed to fostering the young artists who formed the Mloda Polska (Young Poland) movement that revitalised Polish art and national identity.
The influx of artistic ideas from Europe, the gradual development of organised political parties which contributed to the flight for independence and the emergence of the new pleasure seeking bourgeoisie gradually transformed the city into one of Eastern Europe’s major spiritual capitals.

The powerful works of Mloda Polska (Young Poland) artists are rarely exhibited  beyond the country’s borders. They have remained favourites in their part of the world matching the popularity of their counterparts in the West

Mloda Polska  - Young Poland

At times resentful of the burden imposed upon them to regenerate a national identity, the Mloda Polska (Young Poland)  artists broke with staid traditions of the art academies to revel in visual and sensual pleasures. Even under foreign occupation, Cracow boasted cafes and cabarets where bohemians and intellectuals met in an atmosphere of charged expectation to discuss the latest issues and trends in politics and art practice.

Although the artists associated with Mloda Polska  were bohemians who deliberately challenged social norms and produced work regarded as exceptionally avant garde, their art was hailed as an expression of national identity. They succeeded in shedding the weight of exclusively carrying Polish patriotism by expanding into modern styles, while still providing inspiration to a broad public.

This movement prompted the resurgence of interest in folk styles which proliferated in furniture, rugs and buildings, creating a tangible link with the peasant class respected as the keepers of Polish identity.

A further sense of continuity prevailed in the p[popularity of marriages between male artists and female peasants, aiming to bind Polish history with contemporary notions.

While the country did not appear on a map or in the international political arena, a contemporary Polish consciousness was finally asserted in the paintings, prints, textiles and drawings of the Mloda Polska  movement.