Crème de la crème. Selected acquisitions 2021–2022

18 March–14 May 2023

2^nd floor
 

Paintings signed by such names as Bernardo Bellotto, known as Canaletto, Marcello Bacciarelli and Angelika Kauffmann, valuable pieces of Meissen porcelain, antique furniture, silverware, militaria… The 130 most significant acquisitions in total, carefully selected from among nearly five hundred items that enriched the collection of the Royal Castle in Warsaw between 2021 and 2022, may now be admired as part of a unique temporary exhibition. Unique due to the richness and diversity of items displayed – both in terms of the field of art they represent and the time and place of their creation, but also the themes, motifs, references and issues to which they refer.

In the years 2021–2022, the collection of the Royal Castle in Warsaw was enriched by almost 500 high-class works of art, selected from the rich offer of prestigious European galleries and antique shops, as well as those found at auctions, organised both in Poland and abroad. Some of the acquisitions complemented the decor of the historic interiors: the Royal Apartments and the Apartment of Prince Józef Poniatowski in the Tin-Roofed Palace, whereas some found their way to the Gallery of Masterpieces. Their purchase is part of a consistently implemented mission of the Royal Castle in Warsaw to acquire back items that once had their place within its walls or are associated with the rulers who in the 18^th century resided at the Castle, but also to purchase new ones fitting in well with the profile of the castle collection due to their artistic qualities and/or a given historic origin.

The exhibition displays ca. 130 most significant and valuable works of art from among those purchased in recent years. This very unique combination of paintings, drawings and graphics, furniture, silverware, ceramics, and militaria has been divided into three thematic groups: the first of them associated with the court of the Saxon kings: Augustus II and Augustus III, the second one devoted to the patronage of King Stanisław August, and the third one associated with the figure of Prince Józef Poniatowski.

Curator of the exhibition: dr Anna Szkurłat

The exhibition is open on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays during the Castle opening hours 

Free admission based on passes available at the Castle ticket office.

Conservator’s entry limit applies.