On 29 September, the National Museum in Warsaw opened the exhibition ‘Lukasians. The Great Return’ (“Łukaszowcy. Wielki Powrót”). The exhibition was prepared by the Polish History Museum and consists of unique paintings and tapestries depicting the most important events in Polish history.
The works of art made by members of the Brotherhood of St Luke, popularly known as Lukasians, are of extraordinary value to Polish culture. It was an artistic group, founded in 1925 and operating until 1939. Members of the group referred to painting patterns from the 16th and 17th centuries. They painted historical compositions, landscapes, portraits, genre and biblical scenes.
The paintings depict the most glorious moments in the history of Poland – from the meeting of Bolesław Chrobry and Emperor Otto at the tomb of St Adalbert in 1000 to the adoption of the Constitution of 3 May 1791. Tapestries, on the other hand, praise King Jan III Sobieski: his military successes and the power of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. No wonder that Poles treated them as a national treasure.
Between 1939 and 1940, the works formed the heart of the Polish pavilion at the World Exhibition in New York. It was originally intended that they would remain in the USA until the autumn of 1940 at the most. However, history turned out differently. Due to the outbreak of the Second World War, the artwork was unable to return to the country. So for years they adorned the library of the American Le Moyne College. After the end of war, the Polish authorities tried to recover the works, but the complicated legal situation made it difficult to negotiate with representatives of the college for their return. The breakthrough came in May 2022. After 83 years, Poland received the paintings backand will soon join the collection of the Polish History Museum!
Before this happens, the museum has created an exhibition of works. It is made up of seven panoramic paintings and four macatas and combines several themes. As the director of the of Polish History Museum Robert Kostro said: “the exhibition presents excellent painting, a bold attempt to search for a national style in the art of the Polish twentieth century. It is an opportunity to recall the bold and thoughtful activities that the authorities of the Second Polish Republic carried out in the field of historical policy.”
Organizer: Polish History Museum
Co-organizer: National Museum in Warsaw
Curators: dr Monika Matwiejczuk, Konrad Pyzel
The exhibition can be seen until 11 November 2022 at the National Museum in Warsaw: Al. Jerozolimskie 3.
The exhibition was prepared in Polish-English.
Photo: Photo: Maciej Cioch/PHM
