Until 12 February, the Kordegarda – Gallery of the National Cultural Centre in Warsaw is hosting the exhibition ‘The January Uprising. The Path to Independence”. The exposition was opened by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Piotr Gliński.

“The January Uprising means Grottger, Gierymskis, Andriolli, Chmielowski (St. Brother Albert). Their works are something extremely symbolic as there is Polishness enchanted in them. I am very pleased that in the heart of Warsaw, we can present an exhibition with magnificent 19th-century art and a very interesting dialogue with 21st-century artists”, said the head of the Ministry of Culture when opening the exhibition.

For one month from 12 January to 12 February, the Kordegarda is presenting drawings, prints and watercolours by artists who took an active part in the Uprising, including Kazimierz Alchimowicz, Michał Elwiro Andriolli, Adam Chmielowski, Ludomir Benedyktowicz, Maksymilian Gierymski, Edward Jürgens, Antoni Maksymilian Oborski, Alfred Izydor Römer and Stanisław Witkiewicz.

There are also works by artists who supported the Uprising while living abroad at the time, such as Walery Eljasz-Radzikowski and Artur Grottger, as well as works by Franciszek Streitt, Adrian Głębocki, Józef Chełmoński and Antoni Kamieński, and installations by two contemporary artists – Teresa Murak and Mateusz Rembieliński.

The drawings and prints depict the dramatic fate of an insurgent, prisoner or exile. Testimonies by artists-participants in the Uprising, as well as the voice of contemporary artists, allow to perceive the tragedy of the insurgents and their families in universal categories. The exhibition also includes works with images of women – in mourning and bringing aid to prisoners.

The works on display have been acquired from the collections of the National Museum in Warsaw, the Museum of Independence and the Lublin Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts, thanks to the courtesy of the National Museum in Lublin.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński