Not only “Indian Summer”. His paintings have entered the canon. A large exhibition of Józef Chełmoński

At the entrance to the exhibition, the atmosphere is introduced by famous canvases: “In Front of the Inn”, “Storks” and “Cranes”.

The exhibition, which is the result of scientific research that has been ongoing since 2022, includes 119 paintings and drawings from the MNW's own collections, as well as loans from nearly 20 other institutions: domestic and foreign museums, including Hungary and the USA, private collections and the collections of the artist's heirs. Some arrived from areas affected by flooding, which was a great organizational effort for museum staff.

– The most famous paintings by Józef Chełmoński: “Storks” and “Partridges” belong to the canon of Polish 19th-century art – said Ewa Micke-Broniarek, curator of the exhibition, during Wednesday's press conference.

Chełmoński knew the countryside from his childhood. He was born on November 7, 1849 in the Łowicz region in the village of Boczki, where his father leased a farm.

– Childhood in the countryside created the foundations for the pictorial representation of life in the Polish village, later in the Ukrainian one. That is why we begin the exhibition by presenting Chełmoński as a painter – a chronicler of village life, seen from the perspective of a peasant's homestead, as well as a manor or a manor – emphasized Ewa Micke-Broniarek.

Rural landscapes and genre scenes, present in the painter's first paintings, also remained a constant motif in his later works. – In works such as “Saturday at the Folwark” and “Matula”, Chełmoński was clearly influenced by his teacher Wojciech Gerson – indicated the curator.

In the paintings: “The Case at the Mayor's”, “The Meltdowns”, “On the Farm”, “The Volhynian Town” Chełmoński, like a careful observer, presents a cross-section of the community typical of the Polish village. In “The Case at the Mayor's” there appear such characters as the mayor, the commune writer, a Jew, people from the manor.

One of Chełmoński's favorite motifs was the view of a village cottage, a cottage, a roadside inn, or an inn.

The life of the local community was centered around the inn. The theme recurred in many of the painter's paintings, e.g. “Przed karczmą”, “Night in Ukraine”. Village life took place in front of the inn, hunting trips were made in front of the inn, wolves approached the inn. Squat, thatched, usually whitewashed cottages – inns were an inseparable element of the landscape of Polesie, Podolia, Mazovia. The image of village life is complemented by views of fairs or horse markets.

– The artist perfected the skills, workshop and knowledge about painting that Chełmoński acquired from his teacher and master Wojciech Gerson in Munich, where he left in 1872. There he encountered the Stimmung painting. These were atmospheric works, referring to emotions, encouraging contemplation – said Ewa Micke-Broniarek.

“Indian Summer” and “Idyll” as well as “Summer Evening – Memories of Ukraine” shown at the exhibition are maintained in this style.

Many of Chełmoński's paintings depict hunting scenes, although the artist himself did not like hunting. These include: “Zjazd na polowanie”, “Wyjazd na polowanie”, “Dojazdacz”. “The free way of rendering the forms and textures of snow, mud and vegetation contrasts with the precise drawing of people and animals. Sometimes Chełmoński gave up dynamics in favor of showing an atmosphere of silence and concentration” – the curator notes in the commentary.

Chełmoński loved horses, he was a great rider. He captured the beauty of horses in many paintings: galloping, in harness. He most willingly painted them untamed, revealing their enormous strength and lively temperament, including in harness – in a mad dash overcoming the borderland wilderness, full of mud and snow. His “Three” and “Four” are famous.

When one stands before “Czwórka” in the gallery in Krakow's Sukiennice, the illusion of a galloping horse-drawn carriage is so powerful that the viewer usually takes a few steps back. However, it was not possible to borrow this painting for the Warsaw exhibition, due to – as the organizers from the MNW point out – the enormous dimensions of the canvas.

However, “The Attempt of the Four” and “The Polish Cart” on loan from the San Francisco museum are shown.

In 1889, Chełmoński bought a small manor house in Kuklówka in Mazovia. It was the autumn of the artist's life and a time of a quiet, subtle mood in his paintings. And again, nature and rural landscapes became the heroes of his canvases. He created close-up landscapes, faithfully reproducing the richness of plants and animals. He beautifully painted not only horses, but also rural mongrels.

“In the landscapes from the period of his residence in Kuklówka, Chełmoński tried to create a kind of synthesis of all nature, to show everything that is alive, mobile, changing in it, as well as everything that is eternal and timeless. This approach led to the interpretation of the artist's works in the spirit of 19th-century symbolism. His aesthetics were shaped by the rejection of the rationalist model of the world, the conviction that an elusive but intuitively perceptible spiritual element permeates all phenomena,” notes Ewa Micke-Broniarek in her commentary to the exhibition.

The exhibition is accompanied by a two-volume catalogue, an exhibition guide and numerous cultural events: workshops, guided tours, concerts and debates. The museum has also prepared a vinyl record with music inspired by nature and Chełmoński's work.

The educational program for adults, youth, families with children and people with disabilities includes: guided tours, Sunday meetings at the exhibition, discussions and workshops. City and nature walks are planned. Visitors can use audio guides read by Krystyna Czubówna and Adam Wajrak (they will be available for download on the museum's website).

The exhibition was created in cooperation between three national museums: Warsaw, Poznań and Kraków. It will have three editions: at the National Museum in Warsaw from 27 September 2024 to 26 January 2025; at the National Museum in Poznań from 6 March to 29 June 2025; at the National Museum in Kraków from 8 August to 30 November 2025.

The curators of the Warsaw exhibition are Ewa Micke-Broniarek and Wojciech Głowacki.