Landscapes on porcelain

Painting Inspirations with Bellotto in the Background

7 June–4 September 2022

Officer’s room, Crown Guard Room

Stunning panoramas of cities and landscapes on porcelain, executed with extraordinary artistry and attention to detail, modelled on paintings and prints by eminent 18th-century vedutisti, in particular the works of Bernardo Bellotto, known as Canaletto, will be on show at the forthcoming exhibition, prepared in connection with the celebrations of the 300th anniversary of the birth of Bernardo Bellotto. Porcelain objects will be juxtaposed with their painting and graphic prototypes.

The exhibition was inspired by a Meissen coffee pot from the déjeuner service of King Stanislaw August in the castle collection, decorated with two views of Warsaw according to Bellotto's paintings. The object will be juxtaposed with a tea pot (from the collection of the Museum of Warsaw) and a tray (from the collection of the Landesmuseum Württemberg in Stuttgart). This will be a historic event, as the three vessels will be shown together for the first time since the late 18th century.

The presented porcelain can be divided into two groups. The first are dishes decorated with views according to Bellotto's paintings and engravings, showing, apart from Warsaw, also Saxon cities: Dresden, Pirna and Königstein fortress, as well as Vienna. It will also include Meissen wares, decorated with Saxon views modelled on the work of other artists. The second group consists of plates and a salad bowl decorated with Dutch vedutas, mostly from the service made in Meissen between 1772 and 1774, belonging to William V of Orange, stadtholder of the Netherlands. The views placed on these vessels were modelled on engravings by various Dutch artists.

A total of 29 porcelain vessels, original engravings by Bellotto depicting Warsaw, Dresden, Pirna and Königstein, and reproductions of other originals will be on display.

The objects on display come mainly from the collections of foreign museums, including the Porzellannsammlug (SKD) in Dresden, the Bayerische Nationalmuseum in Munich, the Landesmuseum Württemberg in Stuttgart, the Museum für angewandte Kunst in Vienna, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and theKasteel Duivenvoorde  Voorschoten (Netherlands). 

The exhibition is accompanied by a lavishly illustrated catalogue containing not only notes on the objects presented, but also essays devoted to vedutas on Meissen and Viennese porcelain.

Curator of the exhibition: Dr Anna Szkurłat, curator of the collection of ceramics and glass at the Royal Castle in Warsaw.

The exhibition Landscapes on porcelain. Painting Inspirations with Bellotto in the Background was realized thanks to funding from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage

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