In the 17th and 18th centuries, art rooms used to be rooms where aristocrats and wealthy townsmen displayed their private collections of paintings, sculptures or handicrafts. Only a select few had access to them. Nevertheless, this practice did contribute greatly to the development of the culture of art reception in Europe and, eventually – with the change in social relations and the popularisation of the idea of making the collections public – gave rise to museums. That is also why a reference to this very tradition is the main idea behind an exhibition that presents 37 works of European art from the largest and most valuable art collection in Ukraine. A collection the lion’s share of which is constituted by items from an exceptional private collection.

The Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Art in Kyiv is one of the most important museum institutions in Eastern Europe, comprising collections of European, Asian and ancient art. Due to the significant damage this institution suffered during Russia’s attacks on Kyiv in the autumn of 2022, the director’s board decided to deposit part of its collection at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, in order to secure it for the duration of the war and subject it to conservation treatments. This decision created a unique opportunity to present works of art regarded as Ukrainian national collection to the general public in Poland. It is the first such extensive presentation of the Khanenkos’ collection outside Ukraine.

The exhibition is held in the space of the Royal Library, the only original interiors of the Royal Castle in Warsaw that survived World War II. Its very space provides an important context for the exhibition as a tangible symbol of the survival of cultural treasures in the face of the ravages of war. The exhibition is available from 6 December 2024 to 30 March 2025.

More information: https://www.zamek-krolewski.pl/en/aktualnosc/2337-cabinet-european-art-masterpieces-bohdan-and-varvara-khanenko-national-museum-art