W poszukiwaniu tożsamości artystycznej - Maksymilian Antoni Piotrowski

Abstrakt

The article presents issues related to the reception of the art of Maksymilian Antoni Piotrowski (1813-1875), a painter born in Bydgoszcz, educated in German academies, showing his artworks in European salons. The 50th anniversary of the artist’s death, which took place in 1925, became an opportunity to discover the painter for Bydgoszcz and the beginning of searches for the Polish cultural continuity of the city, stopped by the Prussian annexation, as well as its artistic identity. The article presents three important undertakings which brought to light the artist and his work, rescuing him from oblivion and restoring his position in Polish and Bydgoszcz arts. These events were initiated by Zygmunt Malewski and the Society of the Friends of the City of Bydgoszcz, joined quickly by the Municipal Museum. The official celebration of the 50th anniversary of Piotrowski’s death with an extensive program became the beginning of preserving the memory about this Bydgoszcz painter. The program of the celebration included the first monographic exhibition, which showcased the scattered oeuvre of the artist, loaned for the exhibition. Numerous relations with owners of his artworks were established. As a result of these activities - celebrations and exhibitions - intensive efforts were made to create a collection of Piotrowski’s artworks in the Municipal Museum of Bydgoszcz. For a dozen or so years, until the outbreak of World War II, more than a hundred paintings and drawings made by the artist were collected, some of which were presented in the Maksymilian Antoni Piotrowski Hall as a permanent exhibition.