Young Poland: Polish Art 1890-1918 exhibit in Kyoto

I went to Kyoto to see the “Young Poland” art exhibition at the National Museum of Modern Art. During my over 20 years of living in Japan I have never seen or heard of an exhibition of Polish art of this scale. I just knew I had to see it. It features some 130 pieces, including numerous paintings, prints, a few pieces of furniture, and textiles by Jan Matejko and the "Young Poland" movement. By reading one of the texts accompanying this exhibit I was reminded by the painful truth that my country lost its independence in 1795 and was erased from the map of Europe for a period of 123 years after it was partitioned between Russia, Prussia, and Austria. Polish people back then, said the text, “having lost their country, turned to the arts and culture as a source of identity and that’s what is now called the ‘young Poland’ movement.” I can hardly imagine how it must have felt to lose one’s country, but I did feel the sadness and the pain from some of the paintings. 

And two days after the exhibit, back in Tokyo (while jotting down my thoughts for this post!), I realized that for most of my adult life I was running away from this painful history of my country. It was just too much for me to imagine how it must have felt for the Polish people living in the 18th and 19th century to have lost their country. Even today when I ponder this painful history, I feel a lot of sadness, shame, resentment, a sense of injustice. There is also this feeling of betrayal. But even though some of the paintings I saw in Kyoto brought up this surge of difficult emotions, I’m glad I went. Whether Polish history was fortunate or troubled, it’s still my country.

The exhibit is on until June 29.