Olga Boznanska at the National Museum

From 24 October 2014 to 1 February 2015, the National Museum in Kraków (Main Building at Al. 3 Maja) will host an exhibition of Olga Boznańska’s paintings by Olga Boznańska, featuring the masterpiece, “Girl with Chrysanthemums”. Year 2015 is dedicated to celebrating the 150th anniversary of Boznańska’s birthday and the 75th of her death. The artist grew up in Kraków, studied fine arts in Munich and later moved to Paris, where she began a brilliant career as a portrait painter. She used to speak of her art very proudly: “My paintings look great, because they are true, sincere and genuine, there is no place for triviality, mannerism or spoof. Not only will the exhibition bring together her 173 paintings exhibited on a regular basis Krakow, but also 20 works of her European contemporaries and those who inspired her, including Diego Velázquez, Édouard Manet, Henri Fantin-Latour and James McNeill Whistler. The Museum has leased works from the Louvre Museum and Musée d’Orsay in Paris and from Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid. The exhibition includes also paintings of Polish artists who were, like Boznańska, related to both Krakow and Paris, providing the full picture of art of the time.