Museum Sets Ball In Motion
The first step towards a thorough renovation of Poland's oldest and most distinguished museum has been taken. Cracow's Czartoryski Museum, famous as the home of Leonardo da Vinci's 'Lady With An Ermine', has been in the papers regularly of late as the trustees claim that the museum has not received adequate attention from the National Museum, to which the institution now belongs.
Before the Second World War, the Museum remained under the private ownership of the Czartoryski's, an aristocratic family who have played a major role in Polish history. During the communist era the collection came under the jurisdiction of the National Museum. At that time some key pieces were dispatched to other foundations.
In 1991, Prince Adam Karol Czartoyski, who had been brought up in exile, fought a court case and reclaimed the museum. Having won the case, he donated the collection to the nation and placed the museum under the financial care of the National Museum. However, creative decisions were to be taken by a separate panel of trustees, many of whom were part of the Czartoryski family.
Adam Zamoyski, the current President of the Foundation and cousin of Prince Adam Karol, is now seeking a complete renovation of the museum. He has just overseen a competition to create a new entrance and square on Pijarska street. The competition was won by two distinguished architects, Piotr Lewicki and Kazimierz Latak. Lewicki's most recent project was the remodelling of the main square in Cracow's wartime Jewish ghetto, where he created a striking memorial to the victims of the Nazi persecution.
Several figures in Cracow's cultural circles expressed concern when the museum's trustees relaxed the rule about selling artefacts that came into the museum's possession after 1945. However, few would argue that the place is not in need of an overhaul. The current project is just a small first step in the process.