Portrait Gallery. Within the Circle of the Free Lords, Counts and Princes of Pszczyna

PERMANENT EXHIBITION

Portrait Gallery.

Within the circle of the free lords, counts and princes of Pszczyna

Paintings that relate to the family are usually displayed in galleries, so that the Heir, by looking at them, could not only see the features of the face but also read the virtues and magnanimous heroic deeds of his truly noble Ancestors – wrote in 1671 in a letter to Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk, his secretary John Burbury.

These words form the motto of the exhibition “Portrait Gallery” at Pszczyna Castle.

Its layout refers to the former family portrait galleries that once existed in almost every grand aristocratic residence. They were meant to present family genealogies, shape the identity of the lineage and demonstrate the continuity of tradition.

In three former guest rooms on the 2nd floor of the castle, where original stucco, wainscoting, parquet floors, stoves and chandeliers have survived to this day, over 70 oil paintings, graphics, sculptures and other exhibits have been gathered. All of them together tell the story of the three last families to whom Pszczyna Castle belonged from the mid-16th century to the mid-20th century – the Promnitz, Anhalt and Hochberg families. The exhibition is not only an encounter with the former owners of the castle, their ancestors and relatives. The works gathered here allow one to trace the transformations of European portrait painting from the Renaissance through the Baroque, Classicism, Biedermeier and Academicism to 20th-century styles, and also to see how fashion and the types of human representation changed.

Photo Wielomski – bannery_FB_01

Photo Wielomski – bannery_FB_01

Slide

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P U B L I C A T I O N S

Portrait Gallery

The presented works make it possible to trace the changes in European – above all German – portrait painting, from Renaissance-type paintings through the Baroque, Classicism, Biedermeier and Academicism to 20th-century styles.

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S O U V E N I R S

Princess Daisy von Hochberg

with her son Hans Heinrich XVII

Magnet – Princess Daisy von Hochberg with her son Hans Heinrich XVII

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