The exhibition „Masterpieces for the King? Rubens, Van Dyck, Teniers II from the collection of the Dulwich Picture Gallery” is definitely worth a look. It includes Rubens’ “Portrait of a Lady”, Van Dyck’s “Madonna and Child”, and Teniers the Younger’s “Peasants conversing”. 

On the official website of Łazienki Królewskie, we can read a summed-up story of how Poland’s King Stanisław August Poniatowski ordered the valuable paintings. 

In 1790, during his stay in London, Stanisław August’s brother, Primate Michał Poniatowski, commissioned the London-based French art dealer Noel Desenfans to buy paintings that would enrich the royal collection in Warsaw. Within a few years, the latter gathered a collection of outstanding works by Dutch, Flemish, and Italian masters, among others. 

As a sign of gratitude, King Stanisław August promoted Desenfans to the function of Polish Consul General in London. The king, however, was unable to pay for the paintings. The works never reached Warsaw. In 1795, Poland disappeared from the map of Europe, and Stanisław August was forced to hand over his crown.

In 1802, Desenfans published a two-volume catalogue of 660 paintings in London, which he advertised as „purchased for His Majesty the King of Poland„. It later turned out that such a slogan was purely a marketing measure, given the fact that most of the catalogue’s paintings were not even known by the Polish king at the time. 

The paintings ended at the London Dulwich Art Gallery. Five of them you can admire in Royal Łazienki.

The exhibition is open on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday from 10 AM to 4 PM and on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 10 AM to 6 PM. The visit is free on Friday. 

Photos: Twitter @Arkady Rzegocki

Cover photo: Łazienki Królewskie

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen