Small-Format Paintings from the Collection of the National Museum in Wrocław
9 December 2025 – 22 March 2026
Curators of the exhibition: Małgorzata Macura, Anna Jezierska
A small format – this is the only common characteristic of all the paintings shown in this exhibition as none of them exceeds the size of 40 × 40 cm!
They are usually hidden from view, and mostly stored in the museum vaults due to their specific ‘non- fitting’ into the concept of permanent gallery displays. Yet many of them represent an excellent level of artistic qualities and are surprising with their extended, or even monumental composition enclosed in a small format. Such paintings prove that their small size did not create limitations to artistic expression – usually associated with canvases of traditional dimensions. The exhibition showcases paintings by well-known artists such as Artur Grottger, Jan Matejko, Aleksander Gierymski, Bolesław Biegas, Eugeniusz Geppert, Henryk Stażewski and Pierre-Paul Prud’hon. Others were painted by some excellent, even though today somewhat forgotten personages, e.g. Émile De Cauwer, Marie Spieler, Odo Dobrowolski, Stanisław Dębicki, Stanisław Janowski, and the recently discovered Maria Dulębianka.
The exhibition comprises an interesting selection of objects representing other collections in the National Museum in Wrocław, also surprising the viewer with their small size.