New Gallery of Portraits of Polish Monarchs

Andrzej Pągowski, initiator, organiser and artistic director of the project, financed both the creation of New Gallery of Portraits of Polish Monarchs and its exhibition.

When funds were raised, a team of history experts began their work; source materials were prepared based on the latest historical knowledge.

Waldemar Świerzy began his work once the characterisation of each monarch was ready. During the entire creation period, the Professor always consulted Andrzej Pągowski with regard to the results of his work. When the artistic director accepted the creative aspect of the portrait, it was transferred to the team of experts who provided an opinion on the historical side of the work. Any potential remarks of experts were taken into account and then the portrait was reproduced and archived.

The exhibition presenting portraits of Polish monarchs by Waldemar Świerzy was organised for the first time in 2015. Entitled New Gallery of Portraits of Polish Monarchs: Świerzy vs. Matejko, it took place in The Royal Castle in Warsaw from 19 May to 19 July 2015. It was preceded by a press conference and a grand opening.

The exhibition presented 49 portraits of Polish monarchs by Waldemar Świerzy, including monarchs’ characterisations, as well as 42 reproductions of Jan Matejko’s portraits. 5 original Jan Matejko’s drawings were borrowed from The National Museum in Wrocław. The National Bank of Poland (NBP) lent coins, banknotes, stamps and postcards featuring Polish monarchs. Stills presenting Polish monarchs in Polish movies were presented on screens. In the course of the first two months, the exhibition was attended by up to 100 thousand people. The exhibition enjoyed an enormous interest on the part of local and nationwide media, tv, press, radio, as well as generated considerable online traffic.