Gothic in Greater Poland 1936/2026

The exhibition “Gothic in Greater Poland 1936/2026” tells the story of the show held in our museum building in 1936. “Greater Poland Gothic Sculpture” was then the first independent presentation of medieval sculptures and paintings at the Muzeum Wielkopolskie and one of the first exhibitions of its kind in Poland. It will be a story of how, over the past 90 years, our view of medieval art has changed, and at the same time a unique opportunity to see Gothic sculptures and paintings up close, including those that normally stand in churches across Greater Poland.

Student organisers of the exhibition during a study trip, Munich 1935. Lower row from left: Kazimierz Kowalski, Szczęsny Dettloff, Kazimierz Alkiewicz, Halina Niklewicz, Katarzyna Pajzderska, Barbara Dembińska, Halina Waga. Upper row from left: Gwido Chmarzyński, Janusz Rejman, Przemysław Michałowski, Janusz Powidzki (crouching), Eugeniusz Krygier, Zdzisław Kępiński; Audiovisual Archive of the Faculty of Art History

Academic ferment and student friendship

The organisation of the exhibition “Greater Poland Gothic Sculpture” in 1936 was led by twenty-something art history students of the University of Poznań, working under the guidance of their mentor, Rev. Prof. Szczęsny Dettloff.

Passionate young researchers set out into the field in search of Gothic monuments. They visited over 150 churches of the Poznań diocese and, in more than 100 of them, found forgotten works of Gothic sculpture. A new chapter in research on the medieval regional heritage thus began.

Two moments in time, two views of Gothic

The exhibition “Gothic in Greater Poland 1936/2026” consists of two parts: archival and historical.

The first part takes us back in time to Greater Poland in 1936. It tells the story of the groundbreaking exhibition “Greater Poland Gothic Sculpture” and traces the postwar fate of the objects. It is the starting point for a narrative about changing research methods, ways of understanding medieval art and approaches to the protection of monuments.

The second part gives a voice to the works themselves, which for ninety years have lived their own lives: some were repainted, while others, on the contrary, were freed from thick layers of later interventions.

Exhibition “Greater Poland Gothic Sculpture”, 1936; in the foreground Halina Niklewicz in the third exhibition room; Archive of the National Museum in Poznań

Cult objects, museum objects

All works presented in the exhibition were created for a specific purpose: they were meant to serve religion, explain the mysteries of faith and bring viewers closer to the truths recorded in the Bible. They were tied to particular sacred spaces and woven into the rhythm of the liturgical year.

In 1936, after the exhibition ended, the fate of most of them changed. From church interiors, the objects moved into museum galleries. This seemingly simple relocation, carried out above all with their protection in mind, nevertheless changed their status and the way they function.

Catalogue of the exhibition “Greater Poland Gothic Sculpture”, 1936

Kościan, Pentecost (retable); workshop of the Master of the Pentaptych from Gościszowice, 1507; made available courtesy of the Parish of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Kościan

Turbulent fates of Gothic treasures

The exhibition sets two different orders side by side:

• Works that remained in churches bear the traces of time, layers of later interventions, changing aesthetic sensibilities and adaptation to the transforming interiors of churches. They are “alive”, because they are woven into the rhythm of contemporary devotion. The exhibition is a rare opportunity to look at them up close.
• Objects held in museums: their time has in a sense stood still in 1936. Removed from their original context, they now function primarily as works of art, analysed by researchers in terms of style, form or authorship.

Today, richer in new knowledge and advanced conservation methods, we can look at them again.

**Curator…