New exhibits have been added to the museum galleries of the Royal Castle in Warsaw. The Castle’s latest acquisitions include paintings by Bernardo Bellotto, known as Canaletto, and Marcello Bacciarelli, reports the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.

“We have changed our mentality in our approach to culture, which often requires a lot of money. Polish society appreciates the fact that in recent years the budget of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage has been increased by more than 100 %, said the head of the ministry, Piotr Gliński, during the ceremonial presentation of donations to the Royal Collection at the Royal Castle in Warsaw.

Among the latest acquisitions of the Royal Castle in Warsaw were paintings by Bernardo Bellotto, known as Canaletto, and Marcello Bacciarelli. Both artists, eminent representatives of the Classical style, were court painters to King Stanislaus Augustus, and their numerous works still form the core of the Castle’s art collection.

The new acquisitions also include individual pieces of Meissen porcelain, an engraving “Portrait of Stanisław August Poniatowski” by Samuel Gottlob Kuetner, based on a painting by Marcello Bacciarelli, 16th-century tournament armour from the German culture, 17th century Turkish chainmail, a Napoleonic-era lance, Horace Vernet’s painting César de Vachon de Belmont-Briançon ‘Colonel of the 3rd Regiment of the Guard of Honour on the Day of the Battle of Reims’ and François-Pascal-Simon Gérard’s painting ‘Sketch of a Portrait of King Murat’.

The purchase of works of art and monuments of craftsmanship was made possible thanks to the funding of nine foundations and two State Treasury companies: Bank Pekao S.A. Foundation, Enea Foundation, KGHM Polska Miedź Foundation, PGE Foundation, Polish Armaments Group Foundation, PKO Bank Polski Foundation, PZU Foundation, Tauron Foundation, Totalizator Sportowy Foundation and Grupa Azoty and Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa S.A.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński