The Awakened

The Ruins of Antiquity and the Birth of the Italian Renaissance

18 July – 15 October 2023

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Roots are a prerequisite for flourishing. This natural regularity also aptly explains the phenomenon of the great artistic revival that took place at the beginning of the 15th century in Italy, whose main source of inspiration was the rediscovered heritage of antiquity. It is to this particular moment in history that the exhibition is dedicated, featuring precious and rarely moved artefacts from the world’s most prestigious museums and libraries. The objects on display in this unique collection form a coherent, multidimensional and fascinating story about the beginnings of the Renaissance – a great breakthrough that, although it grew out of a fascination with the past, was to define the future.

The exhibition coincides with the 500th anniversary of the death of Pietro Perugino, the eminent early Renaissance painter and draughtsman, pupil of Piero della Francesca and teacher of Raphael Santi, eyewitness and participant in the transformations depicted.

The theme of the exhibition is the role played in early Renaissance art by the fascination with fragments of the ancient world, manifested in the study of the material remains of Roman civilisation and the surviving ancient writings – largely forgotten and ignored or even destroyed throughout the Middle Ages. The story is maintained in the convention of a dreamlike vision – the issues presented are linked together by a sequence of dreamlike associations.

This is the first exhibition in Poland to explore the subject in such a thorough and comprehensive way, using so many valuable monuments of ancient and early Renaissance art – sculptures, paintings, drawings and prints. The more than 160 exhibits on display have been borrowed from over fifty institutions and private collections, including the Uffizi Gallery (Florence), the Borghese Gallery (Rome), the Estensi Gallery (Modena) the Louvre, the British Museum and the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

The exhibition features works by Antico, Bellini, Botticelli, Bramante, Bramantino, Filarete, Lombardo, Mantegna, Verrocchio and the aforementioned Pietro Perugino.
 

 – look for this symbol to listen to audio recordings about selected objects

You can use your own headphones or purchased at the Castle ticket office (PLN 10).

Ticket prices:

regular – PLN 45
concessionary – PLN 35
children and youth aged 7-16 – PLN 1

The exhibition is available during the opening hours of the Castle:

Tuesday-Sunday: 10.00–17.00 (last entrance at 16.00)