Frans Francken II, Gabinet sztuki

Cabinet of European Art. Masterpieces from the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Art in Kiev

From 6 December, visitors to the Royal Castle in Warsaw will have the opportunity to see nearly forty works of art from the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Art in Kyiv. The exhibition, which displays a notable portion of the European part of the museum’s collection, will be the first such extensive presentation of the Khanenkos’ collection outside Ukraine. Apart from works by such artists as Rubens, Bellotto, Vernet and Juan de Zurbarán, the Castle exhibition will also include some magnificent Polonica like the Portrait of Stanislaus II Augustus in the attire of Henry IV of France. We will exhibit two paintings from the collections of the last king, which were considered lost until recently.

The presented collection from the Khanenko Museum in Kyiv has its genesis in earlier art rooms. Collected in the 1870s by Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko, the couple intended it to be accessible to the general public and educate through art. Nowadays, it is considered the best foreign art collection in Ukraine.

We are the first institution in Poland to display a large selection of works from the Khanenko Museum. These include some magnificent Polonica, such as the portrait of Stanislaus II Augustus in the attire of Henry IV of France, which the country’s most distinguished museums have been vying for years. We also presenttwo paintings from the last king’s collections, which were recently thoughtto be lost.

The exhibition is divided into sections reflecting the diversity of the Khanenko Museum’s collection. In addition to valuable Polonica, we presentItalian, Spanish, Dutch, Flemish, and French art.

The Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Art in Kyiv has the largest and most valuable collection of art in Ukraine, which includes pieces of European, Asian and ancient art. The management of the institution, which suffered significantly during Russia’s attacks on Kyiv in the autumn of 2022, has decided to deposit part ofits collection atthe Royal Castle in Warsaw in order to secure itfor the duration of the war and subject it to conservation treatments. This decision created a unique opportunity to present works ranked as national collections to a broad audience in Poland, says Tomasz Jakubowski, curator of the exhibition.

The new exhibition at the Royal Castle raises critical issues. Preparations for this exhibition made it possible to conserve these valuable items from the Ukrainian collections and prepare their scientific studies. I am convinced that our exhibition will also set new research perspectives and become an important reference point for further projects bringing together scientists and museum professionals from Poland and Ukraine, stresses Prof. Małgorzata Omilanowska-Kiljańczyk, Director of the Royal Castle in Warsaw.

Bohdan Khanenko (1849-1917) was a lawyer, sugar industrialist, and great art enthusiast. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, together with his wife Varvara, he amassed paintings, sculptures, and handicrafts, creating the largest and most valuable collection of art in Ukraine. That is precisely why the collection itself may be compared with other great collections of art gathered at the time in Paris or Vienna.

On 10 October 2022, a series of missile strikes on Kyiv left the Khanenko Museum building significantly damaged. If it had not been for the museologists who secured them in advance, the collections could have been destroyed.

The exhibition at the Royal Castle in Warsaw is accompanied by a comprehensive programme of educational and popularisation activities, including intergenerational classes, workshops for children and young people, meetings from the An Hour with Art series, lectures and talks for seniors. Moreover, there will be offers of curatorial tours, walks with educators and the very popular weekend meetings with volunteers as part of the Storytelling series. We have also scheduled guided tours for people with visual and hearing impairments. On all Tuesdays and selected Saturdays, the exhibition will feature quiet hours during which the amount of sensory stimuli will be reduced.

The exhibition is accompanied by a richly illustrated catalogue, which may be purchased in the Museum Shop.

Organizers: the Royal Castle in Warsaw and the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Art in Kyiv
Curator: Tomasz Jakubowski
Substantive cooperation: Olena Zhivkova
Exhibition design: Wojciech Cichecki
Graphic design: Magdalena Czechowska / ULUMIO creatives

The exhibition has been co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.

For more information, go to gabinetsztuki.zamek-krolewski.pl

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Contact for media

Paulina Szwed-Piestrzeniewicz

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