AG Polska visit in the Print Room of the University of Warsaw Library - the collection's catalog
The Print Room of the University of Warsaw Library invited Ars Graphica Polska to discuss the ongoing project of compiling the collection's catalogues. Some holdings of the Print Room are available at http://egr.buw.uw.edu.pl/en
The Print Room is also opened to all scholars who want to consult the collection. However, the curators of the Print Room do not underestimate the importance of the published catalogues in a traditional book form with comprehensive state of the art. The form of the catalogue enables curators to share their new discoveries and make the information about the collection's holdings easily available. The project is funded by the National Humanities Development Program (Narodowy Program Rozwoju Humanistyki).
Our hosts in the Print Room of Warsaw University Library, Małgorzata Łazicka and Małgorzata Biłozór-Salwa, the authors of the two catalogues, provided us with an insight into their research and generously shared their curatorial experiences.
Małgorzata Łazicka presented her work on brothers Barthel and Sebald Behams’ graphic oeuvre. The results will be published next year in "The Print Room of the University of Warsaw Library. Catalogue of the Collection. Old Master Prints. 15th Century to 60’ of the 19th Century. German School. Barthel and Sebald Beham". Her talk focused on the iconography of Behams' prints as well as the influence of Italian and German graphic art of that time on their works. She briefly described some aspects of the history of the collection and discussed a compelling selection of original works which showed a wide range of subjects presented by Behams' prints. The presence of various impressions from two historical collections, namely the King Stanisław August Poniatowski’s Print Room and the collection of statesman and collector Stanisław Kostka Potocki, enabled us to compare their states and two different ways of presenting the same print.
Małgorzata Biłozór-Salwa is the author of the catalogue of drawings: "The Print Room of the University of Warsaw Library. Catalogue of the Collection. Old Master Drawings. 15th Century to 60’ of 19th Century. Polish School: S". In her talk, she raised plenty of important questions concerning the selection of artists included in her catalogue and the methods of attributing works. She described a long journey that led to the attribution of some works by a close looking practice, extensive archival research and in some instances... a stroke of luck. She also prepared the selection of original objects that mostly comprised drawings by Franciszek Smuglewicz. The presented combination of various subjects and stages of his career allowed us to get an interesting overview of his artistic practices in the best way possible - via original drawings.
AG Polska is very grateful for those wonderful talks and original objects shows. The research and activities of the Print Room curators are really impressive. There is another good news to share - the project of cataloguing the collection is even broader. Forthcoming catalogues of the Print Room of the University of Warsaw Library holdings will also include:
Przemysław Wątroba, The Print Room of the University of Warsaw Library. Catalogue of the Collection. Architectural and decorative drawings. Tilman van Gameren, vol. 1-2
Jolanta Talbierska, The Print Room of the University of Warsaw Library. Catalogue of the Collection. Old Master Drawings. 15th Century to 60’ of 19th Century, Dutch and Flemish School
Last but not least, the cataloguing project is also a part of the 200th-anniversary celebration of the Print Room of the University of Warsaw Library. Feel free to follow the Facebook page to learn about the history of the Print Room and events organized there.
