SOLSTICE. NORDIC PAINTING 1880–1910

18th of November 2022 – 5th of March 2023

The exhibition will feature works by some of the greatest artists from Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark and Finland from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which will offer the Polish public insight on the history and culture of these countries. Exhibitions of paintings from Nordic countries held in Europe and the USA in recent years have enjoyed tremendous popularity. Works of northern artists appear in the permanent collections of many major museums. The present fashion for Scandinavian lifestyle, design and literature is just another impetus for Polish audiences to learn about fine art from Scandinavia. We intend to show a balanced selection of representative works by the major artists from the region and to display them in the context of the historical, social, and cultural changes transpiring in this part of Europe in the years 1880 to 1910.

From November 2022 to March 2023, we plan to show more than one hundred works of art from leading museums and collections of Nordic art in Northern European countries. The exhibition will be an excellent way to promote Scandinavian culture in Poland. It's title references the Summer Solstice (Midsommar), a time of year of particular importance in Scandinavian culture, rich in traditions connected with natural phenomena and light. The word “solstice” also alludes to the changes that took place in Nordic painting at the turn of the 20th century. This was the period of Scandinavian art’s greatest blossoming, a time when new subjects and means of representation developed – from a realistic reflection of the world to symbolism to very individual expressions of form and colour.

The exhibition’s narrative will concentrate around several issues typical of northern art, such as: nature and its impact on human life, work, home and family, national myths and legends, metaphysical landscapes and people’s “inner” being. Also presented will be two phenomena representing the overlap of artistic culture and social life: the work of female artists and the artist colony in Skagen, Denmark.

Curators: Agnieszka Bagińska, Wojciech Głowacki

Partner institution: Gothenburg Museum of Art

Honorary patronages

Royal Danish Embassy

Embassy of Finland in Warsaw
Royal Norwegian Embassy in Warsaw
Embassy of Sweden in Warsaw 
Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Iceland in Warsaw

Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage

Strategic partner
The EEA and Norway Grants
Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy

Working together for a green, competitive and inclusive Europe