The exhibition presents paintings and drawings depicting Poles’ long and sacrificial path to freedom from the moment of its loss in 1794.
The struggle for independence was fought by successive generations in partitioned Poland alongside Napoleon, in three uprisings and in the Great War. The scenes from the Kościuszko Uprising shown in the paintings by Aleksander Orłowski, Michał Stachowicz, Franciszek Smuglewicz and Juliusz Kossak will remind us about this. Dreams and hope for a free homeland were awakened again by Napoleon Bonaparte. The dedication and legendary courage of Polish lancers led by Prince Józef Poniatowski were immortalized, among others, by Piotr Michałowski, January Suchodolski, Wojciech and Jerzy Kossak. National uprisings, especially the January Uprising, were commented and visualized by many artists, even contributing to the worship of the insurgent struggle with quasi-religious associations.
The aim of the exhibition is to raise awareness and attempt to show many dimensions of independence. The works on exhibit create a wide context of related terms such as Polishness, patriotism, national identity, faith and religion. Thus, next to the historical thread, the exhibition has a symbolic and allegorical dimension. This group of works includes works by Jan Matejko, Jan Styka, Jacek Malczewski, Jan Rembowski and Kazimierz Sichulski.
A large part of the exhibition is dedicated to the First World War in the visual arts. Starting from 1914, many artists served in the Legions, which resulted in direct reports from that period in the form of numerous drawings and sketches. The exhibition primarily shows portraits of legionnaires, landscapes from stopping places on the soldier's trail and scenes from skirmishes and combat actions. The works on exhibit were created by Leopold Gottlieb, Alfons Karpiński, Jerzy Kossak, Karol Zyndram Maszkowski, Jan Rembowski, Zygmunt Rozwadowski, Władysław Skoczylas and many other artists-legionnaires.
The works have been selected from many museums in Poland, including the State Art Collection in Wawel Castle, national museums in Warsaw, Krakow, Poznan, Kielce, the Museum of Warsaw, as well as from district museums: in Torun, Radom, Rzeszow, and private collections. The works on display also include military items, examples of craftsmanship and medals, which gives an additional, historical and tangible dimension to the exhibition.
The exhibition is accompanied by an extensive educational program devoted to the broadly understood subject of Polishness and patriotism in various areas such as art, history and literature.