THE COLLECTION OF FELIKS JASIEŃSKI’S DONATION – THE FIRST TWO VOLUMES

Abstract

These are the first two volumes out of the ten planned by the National Museum in Cracow, which together will constitute the publication of the body of work donated to the museum by Feliks “Manggha” Jasieński. One volume presents the collector’s creative biography and the history of his various collections. There are also attempts to interpret the nature of the content of his collections, mainly woodcuts and other Japanese objects, as well as modern Polish art, paintings, engravings (together with a set of European engravings) and decorative arts. The second volume is the first part of a monumental catalogue of the collection which covers drawings, watercolours and pastels by Polish artists. The subsequent eight volumes are envisaged to cover particular parts of this extensive collection (of Polish, European and Eastern paintings, drawings, sculpture, engravings and decorative arts). This enormous undertaking marks the 100th anniversary of Jasieński’s donation (1920–2020), and, as Zofia Gułubiew put it, is intended to visualise and fix the extent and variety of the collection in the public’s awareness. The publishing project by the National Museum in Cracow is extremely valuable, and it should be hoped that it will succeed as intended.