Record on the Polish art market. Picture “reality” of Jacek Malczewski auctioned for PLN 22.2 million

The work “reality” painted by one of the greatest representatives of Polish symbolism Jacek Malczewski for the second time set a record on the Polish art market. The painting was auctioned on Thursday during the auction “Jacek Malczewski and his era” for PLN 18.5 million, and after adding the auction fee, the final price was PLN 22.2 million.

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– This picture ignited the imagination of art historians, museum workers, critics – only on the basis of a black and white photo that was created at the beginning of the 20th century – Agata Szkup, the president of the board of DESA Unicum, said in an interview with TVN24. – The painting was exhibited in 1926 in Lvivin the company of friends of Fine Arts. It was the last time he was seen in public. He was always in private hands – one family, Polish -German, living in Silesia – she said.

– After the war, the family, as part of the family connection program, moved to German And she took the picture as resettlement property. He remained in their hands until 2002, when he sailed on the Polish market. We helped him bring him to Poland – she added. – In December 2022, the painting appeared at the main auction of ancient art. Unfortunately, sales were conditional, because the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage submitted a notification to the prosecutor's office about the alleged illegal export of the work to Germany in the 1950s – she said.

– It was not the sale then. The proceedings in the prosecutor's office lasted two and a half years. At the beginning of this year, we were informed that the picture was cleaned of the allegations and we can finalize the transaction from 2022 – she reported. Then the right of pre -emption was exercised by the National Museum in Warsaw. We turned to this institution with information that we can go to finalization. Unfortunately, we have been informed that the financing was suspended – the institution has no funds – said Szkup.

– So we decided that the image will appear again at the auction and we will start the auction from the price, which was nailed under the hammer two and a half years earlier – she concluded.

– On June 12, the auction of this object was re -bidden. The start price was due to the previous record – we started from 17 million – reported Agata Szkup, president of the board of DESA Unicum. – We have completed the 18.5 million auction under the hammer. Indeed, the picture was bought by a private collector, who will finally pay 22 million 200,000 zlotys for it – she added.

Asked about who bought the work, she only replied that “the picture would stay in Poland”.

– This is a record on the Polish art market. Once again, we broke the magical limit of PLN 20 million. This shows that the Polish art market is developing dynamically and is doing very well. Polish collectors are looking for outstanding works, with a museum rank – and that's what we are dealing with here – said Agata Szkup.

– From the perspective of an art historian, I can say that Jacek Malczewski is an icon of the golden time of Polish painting at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. He was a student of another icon – Master Matejko – he said.

– Last year, seven works of Jacek Malczewski appeared at the auctions in our DESA Unicum auction house. Four of them crossed the magical limit of a million zlotys – said Agata Szkup, president of the board. – We always monitor the number of facilities sold above this amount, because it builds the perspective of market development. It shows how dynamically the Polish art market is growing and how often really outstanding works appear on it – those from the top shelf – she added.