AFTER THE 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MUSEUM IN RADOM

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AFTER THE 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MUSEUM IN RADOM

Journal Title: Muzealnictwo - Year 2015, Vol 56, Issue

Abstract

In 2013, the Jacek Malczewski Museum in Radom celebrated its 90th anniversary. On this occasion a special exhibition was organised, and a catalogue of works by the museum’s patron, Jacek Malczewski, (52 paintings, 64 drawings and poems) was published. The anniversary exhibition, modelled after its 19th-century predecessors, presented collections from many departments: archaeology, history, old and amateur art, and nature, as well as from the branch of the Museum of Modern Art. The anniversary was an opportunity to recall the museum’s history and to honour the deserving individuals. It also provided the possibility to discuss the role of a museum in a big city (of 220,000 inhabitants) with a long history, which used to be an industrial city and a provincial capital for a certain time, in which there are no longer many industrial plants and which is again a district town. In the 19th century Radom could already boast two serious private collections: of paintings, gathered by the pharmacist Karol Hoppen (1798-1849) and of numismatics, created by Teofil Rewoliński (1821-1899), a doctor in the Radom Governorate.The beginnings of Radom’s museum date back to 1909 when Father Jan Wiśniewski (1876-1943), a regional historian, collector and patriot, made his private collections available to the public as the Museum of Polish Geography Society. In 1913, when he was leaving Radom, he donated a part of his collection to the branch of the Polish Geography Society in Radom. The museum was opened in 1923. During the Nazi occupation, Stanisław Trzebiński, painter and creator of ethnographic collections, carried out an inventory under the supervision of the Gestapo in the museum which was closed to the public. Having completed his works, he was arrested in 1942 and deported to Auschwitz, where he died in 1943. In 1945, the City Museum on Nowotki Street was created; in 1964 it was renamed the District Museum, and in 1975 it was transformed into the Regional Museum. Since 1991, the museum has been housed at the former building of the Piarist Order at Radom’s marketplace. In 1993, it was named after the greatest painter born in Radom, Jacek Malczewski. Since 1999, the museum has been called the Jacek Malczewski Museum. The city of Radom bought the first two paintings from the artist in the 1920s, in accordance with a Resolution of the City Council of 30th June 1925, to honour 50 years of his work. Each person managing the museum in the last half-century has bought at least one important painting by Malczewski. The first significant work, Poisoned Well with Chimera (1905), was bought in 1960 by Anna Apanowicz (1915-2010) who was the first to start creating Radom’s gallery of paintings. Afterwards, subsequent directors bought outstanding works by Malczewski; Tomasz Palacz in 1977 bought Poisoned Well with Self-Portrait (1916), Janusz Pulnar bought Self-Portrait with Muse (1908) in 1986, and Adam Zieliński bought Allegorical Scene with Portrait of Sisters (1921) in 2010. Zofia Katarzyna Posiadała, who worked at the museum between 1976 and 2011, created collections for the longest period of time. She chose the works to be bought and she gained the confidence of the painter’s grandson, Krzysztof, and his wife, Krystyna, who donated works from their family archives and paintings to the museum. The museum presents paintings by Jacek Malczewski and a Gallery of 19th- and 20th-century Polish Paintings as permanent exhibitions, as well as archaeological and natural exhibitions, but there is still no exhibition devoted to the history of Radom. The museum organises many temporary exhibitions from different fields, of which the most important are those related to art and history. For example, a very important event was the 2010 exhibition celebrating 650 years of the Parish Church in Radom. Another exhibition was ‘Jacek and Rafał Malczewski’ organised in 2011 which presented also the high value of his son Rafał’s paintings. The collection of paintings by Jacek Malczewski is a significant element of city’s promotion as tourists come to visit Radom drawn by his paintings. The museums offer an opportunity for tourists to visit Radom.

Authors and Affiliations

Mieczysław Szewczuk

Keywords

jubilee MUSEUM Radom jubileusz muzeum Radom Jacek Malczewski Jan Wiśniewski

EP ID EP62060
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