For the first time ever, the works of one of the most famous Gdańsk painters of the modern era can be admired in Warsaw in a stand-alone exhibition. The Royal Castle in Warsaw is showing early paintings and drawings by Herman Han, both in form and content atypical of his later creation, which was marked by large-scale sacred painting, from 7 February to 23 April 2023.

Herman Han (1580-1628), working in Gdansk in the early 17th century, is best known as the creator of the masterpiece Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which adorns the altar of the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Pelplin, or the Coronation of the Madonna, located in the left side altar of the Oliwa Archcathedral. 

The exhibition at the Royal Castle in Warsaw presents a lesser-known profile of the artist. Paintings and drawings from Polish and foreign collections on secular and allegorical themes, as well as portraits, show Herman Han’s artistic and intellectual versatility and significantly supplement the picture of the epoch in which he worked.

“The pretext for the exhibition presented at the Royal Castle that includes paintings and drawings from Polish and foreign collections is the works recently acquired by the Teresa Sahakian Foundation: “Allegory of World Order”, “Allegory of Wealth” and “Allegory of Humility”, said Jarosław Sellin, Deputy Minister of Culture and National Heritage, at the opening of the exhibition.

Jarosław Sellin stressed that the exhibition showed the unique face of Gdańsk. He pointed out that the city, which was at the height of its power at the time, is not only the background but is the essential subject of the exhibition. It is a unique cultural phenomenon, affecting the whole country at the time.

Adrian Andrzejewski