Maurycy Gottlieb. In Search of Identity

He was only 23 when he passed away, but the oeuvre he left makes him one of the brightest stars in the firmament of 19th-century art. His paintings, sketches and drawings are the evidence of his unique talent, at the same time making us realise, with regret, how much more he could have achieved if it had not been for his premature death. Maurycy Gottlieb - the artist in question - was not only Jan Matejko's most distinguished student, but also one of the most fascinating artists of his time, a painter who combined unusual visual sensitivity and original personal tone with a creative approach to the European pictorial tradition. Nevertheless, his significance for art history is much deeper; in fact, Maurycy Gottlieb is considered - most rightly - one of the founders of modern Jewish art. He was one of the first to devote themselves to experiments aiming to find a language able to express the Jewish experience in painting. Going beyond the limits of cultural and ethnic particularities, he managed to show the whole complexity of the situation of a Central European. Polish Jew - proud of his roots and at the same time open to universal culture. His work constitutes one of the most beautiful painting testimonies to deeply experienced humanism.

The exhibition Maurycy Gottlieb. In Search of Identity, organised by the Herbst Palace Museum, branch of Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź, in collaboration with the National Museum in Krakow, is the first display of this unique artist's output in almost a quarter of a century. What lay behind this exhibition was a strong conviction that art of such renown deserves not only to be constantly recalled, but also reinterpreted yet again, and by placing this art in different contexts, we should be able to revive the meanings contained in it. It was no accident that the museums in Łódź and Krakow undertook this task. Looking back on history, Łódź was one of the most important centres of modem Jewish culture, whose significance for our heritage the Muzeum Sztuki has been trying to emphasise for several years now. Krakow is where Maurycy Gottlieb studied and where he spent the last months of his life. It is also the place most strongly connected with the Matejko tradition, uniquely developed by Gottlieb's art. Furthermore, because of its status, it seems it is at the Krakow museum that the question of the manifestation of national identity in art - in fact the question of greatest importance for Maurycy Gottlieb's work - seems to be expressed in a special way.

Both the exhibition and the accompanying catalogue discuss all of these contexts. They will provide viewers with an opportunity not only to see exceptional works, but also to reflect on the complexity of Polish-Jewish cultural relations, not infrequently pushed too hastily into the straitjacket of national or religious divisions.