Bestiary

The aim of the exhibition is to show how, over the centuries, people have sought to understand, classify, tame, use, and build relationships with animals.

These themes find rich and multifaceted reflection in the art and culture of many civilizations.

The exhibition is problem-oriented and critical. Its successive parts present ideas about the origin of animals and their place in the order of the world, from creation myths, through deities with animal traits, to fantastic hybrids known from legends, fairy tales, and art. Next, the beginnings of a scientific approach to animals will be presented, from early modern cabinets of curiosities to engravings and natural history atlases, treatises, and travel accounts. The exhibition concludes with a reflection on humanity's practical, emotional, and cultural attitude towards animals, shown in works of art and utilitarian objects. The exhibits include objects from the fields of painting, sculpture, graphic art, drawing, goldsmithing, furniture making, ceramics, textiles, art installations, photography, as well as products made from materials of animal origin, such as tortoiseshell, feathers and bones, parchment, and cordovan leather.

The final episode of the exhibition concerns contemporary relations between humans and animals, as well as important issues related to species extinction and climate change, and the emerging transformations (including legal ones) in how animals are treated.

Curators: Grażyna Bastek, Przemysław Deles, Łukasz Kozak