Culture of Poland

Polish culture

Periods

Middle Ages Renaissance Baroque Enlightenment Romanticism Positivism Young Poland Interbellum World War II People's Republic of Poland (socialist realism) Modern

Arts

Cinema Literature Music Theater

Practitioners

Artists Authors Composers Musicians Painters Poets

The Culture of Poland is closely connected with its intricate 1000 year history. The culture of Poland has a lot to do with everything in Poland.^[1] Its unique character developed at the crossroads of the Latinate and Byzantine worlds, in continual dialog with the many ethnic groups living in Poland.^[2] The people of Poland have always been hospitable to artists from abroad and eager to follow cultural and artistic trends popular in other countries. In the 19th and 20th centuries the Polish focus on cultural advancement often took precedence over political and economic activity. These factors have contributed to the versatile nature of Polish art, with all its complex nuances.^[2]

Customs

Dialog and the interpenetration of cultures have been a major characteristic of Polish tradition for centuries. Customs, manners, and style of clothing have reflected the influences of East and West. The traditional costumes worn by the nobility in the 16th and 17th centuries were inspired by rich Eastern ornamental style with its Islamic influences. The style of clothing is called Goral (Pronounced GOO-RAL)^[2]. Polish cuisine is yet another aspect of Poland's cultural identity. Distinctive Polish foods include kielbasa, pierogi (pierożki), pyzy (meat-filled dough balls), kopytka, gołąbki (pronounced Go-waunm-b-ki), śledzie (sh-ledje-eh), bigos, kotlety (schabowy and mielony) and much more.^[3]

Architecture

Main article: Architecture of Poland

Polish cities and towns reflect the whole spectrum of European styles. Poland's Eastern frontiers used to mark the outermost boundary of the influences of Western architecture on the continent.

History has not been good to Poland's architectural monuments. However, a number of ancient structures have survived: castles, churches, and stately buildings, often unique in the regional or European context. Some of them have been painstakingly restored, like Wawel Castle, or completely reconstructed after being destroyed in the Second World War, including the Old Town and Royal Castle in Warsaw, as well as the Old Towns of Gdańsk and Wrocław. The centre of Kazimierz Dolny on the Vistula is a good example of a well-preserved medieval town. Poland's ancient capital, Kraków, ranks among the best-preserved Gothic and Renaissance urban complexes in Europe. Meanwhile, the legacy of the Kresy Marchlands of Poland's eastern regions with Wilno and Lwów (now Vilnius and Lviv) as two major centres for the arts, played a special role in these developments with Roman-Catholic church architecture deserving special attention.^[2] In Vilnius (Lithuania) there are about 40 baroque and Renaissance churches. In Lviv (Ukraine) there are Gothic, Renaissance, and baroque urban complexes with influences of the orthodox and Armenian church.

One of the best-preserved examples of the Modernist architecture in Europe is located in Katowice, Upper Silesia, designed and built in the 1930s. Interesting buildings were also constructed during the Communist era in the style of Socialist Realism; while some remarkable examples of modern architecture were erected more recently.

Art

Stańczyk, painted by Jan Matejko.

Polish art has always reflected European trends while maintaining its unique character. The Kraków school of Historicist painting developed by Jan Matejko produced monumental portrayals of customs and significant events in Polish history. Stanisław Witkiewicz was an ardent supporter of Realism in Polish art, its main representative being Jozef Chełmoński. The Młoda Polska (Young Poland) movement witnessed the birth of modern Polish art, and engaged in a great deal of formal experimentation led by Jacek Malczewski (Symbolism), Stanisław Wyspiański, Józef Mehoffer, and a group of Polish Impressionists. Artists of the twentieth-century Avant-Garde represented various schools and trends. The art of Tadeusz Makowski was influenced by Cubism; while Władysław Strzemiński and Henryk Stażewski worked within the Constructivist idiom. Distinguished contemporary artists include Roman Opałka, Leon Tarasewicz, Jerzy Nowosielski, Wojciech Siudmak, and Mirosław Bałka and Katarzyna Kozyra in the younger generation. The most celebrated Polish sculptors include Xawery Dunikowski, Katarzyna Kobro, Alina Szapocznikow and Magdalena Abakanowicz. Since the inter-war years, Polish art and documentary photography has enjoyed worldwide recognition. In the sixties the Polish Poster School was formed, with Henryk Tomaszewski and Waldemar Świerzy at its head.^[2]

Literature

Monument at Main Market Square in Kraków of Adam Mickiewicz, one of the greatest Polish poets.

Since the Christianization and the subsequent access to Western European civilization, Poles developed a significant literary production in Latin. Conspicuous authors of the Middle Ages are among others Gallus Anonymus, Wincenty Kadłubek and Jan Długosz, an author of the monumental work on the history of Poland. With the arrival of the Renaissance, Poles came under the influence of the artistic patterns of the humanistic style, actively participating in the European issues of that time with their Latin works.

The origins of Polish literature written in the first language go back beyond the 14th century. In the 16th century the poetic works of Jan Kochanowski established him as a leading representative of European Renaissance literature. Baroque and Neo-Classicist belle letters made a significant contribution to the cementing of Poland's peoples of many cultural backgrounds. The early 19th century novel "Manuscrit trouvé à Saragosse" by Count Jan Potocki, which survived in its Polish translation after the loss of the original in French, became a world classic. Wojciech Has' film based on it, a favourite of Luis Buñuel, later became a cult film on university campuses. Poland's great Romantic literature flourished in the 19th century when the country had lost its independence. The poets Adam Mickiewicz, Juliusz Słowacki and Zygmunt Krasiński, the "Three Bards", became the spiritual leaders of a nation deprived of its sovereignty, and prophesied its revival. The novelist Henryk Sienkiewicz, who won the Nobel Prize in 1905, eulogised the historical tradition. It is difficult to grasp fully the detailed tradition of Polish Romanticism and its consequences for Polish literature without a thorough knowledge of Polish history.^[2]

In the early 20th century many outstanding Polish literary works emerged from the new cultural exchange and Avant-Garde experimentation. The legacy of the Kresy Marchlands of Poland's Eastern regions with Wilno and Lwów (now Vilnius and Lviv) as two major centres for the arts, played a special role in these developments. This was also a region in which Jewish tradition and the mystic movement of Hasidism thrived. The Kresy were a cultural trysting-place for numerous ethnic and national groups whose achievements were inspiring each other. The works of Bruno Schulz, Bolesław Leśmian, and Józef Czechowicz were written there. In the south of Poland, Zakopane was the birthplace of the avant-garde works of Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz (Witkacy). And, last but not least, there was Władysław Reymont awarded 1924 Nobel prize in literature for his novel Chłopi (The Peasants).

After the Second World War many Polish writers found themselves in exile, with many of them clustered around the Paris-based "Kultura" publishing venture run by Jerzy Giedroyc. The group of emigre writers included Witold Gombrowicz, Gustaw Herling-Grudziński, Czesław Miłosz, and Sławomir Mrożek.

Zbigniew Herbert, Tadeusz Różewicz, Czesław Miłosz, and Wisława Szymborska are among the most outstanding 20th century Polish poets, including novelists and playwrights Witold Gombrowicz, Sławomir Mrożek, and Stanisław Lem (science fiction). The long list includes Hanna Krall whose reportage focuses mainly on the war-time Jewish experience, and Ryszard Kapuściński with books translated into many languages.

• Polish Nobel Prize in Literature laureates
  • Henryk Sienkiewicz (1905)
  • Władysław Reymont (1924)
  • Czesław Miłosz (1980)
  • Wisława Szymborska (1996)

Music

Fryderyk Chopin was the most important Polish composer.

Music of Poland has a long history. The music of Fryderyk Chopin, inspired by Polish tradition and folklore, conveys the quintessence of Romanticism. Since 1927, the International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition has been held every five years in Warsaw. Polish classical music is also represented by composers like Karol Szymanowski, Mieczysław Karłowicz, Witold Lutosławski, Wojciech Kilar, Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, and Krzysztof Penderecki - all of whom rank among the world's most celebrated composers. (An album of Górecki's Symphony No. 3, subtitled Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, has sold over 700,000 copies.) Contemporary Polish jazz with its special national flavour has fans and followers in many countries. The best-known jazzmen are Krzysztof Komeda, Michał Urbaniak, Adam Makowicz, and Tomasz Stańko. Successful composers of film music include Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, Wojciech Kilar, Czesław Niemen and Zbigniew Preisner,

Film

Graduates of the famous Łódź Film School include many celebrated directors, among them Roman Polański (Knife in the Water, Rosemary's Baby, Frantic, The Pianist) and Krzysztof Zanussi, a leading director of the cinema of moral anxiety of the 70s. Andrzej Wajda's films offer an insightful analysis of what is universal in the Polish experience - the struggle to maintain human dignity under circumstances which hardly allow it. His major films describe the identity of many of Poland's generations. In 2000 Wajda was awarded an Oscar for his contribution to cinema. In the 90s the films of Krzysztof Kieślowski, such as The Decalogue (made for television), The Double Life of Véronique and the Three Colors trilogy, won great popularity. Other Polish film directors such as Agnieszka Holland and Janusz Kamiński have worked in Hollywood as well. Polish animated films - represented by Jan Lenica and Zbigniew Rybczyński (awarded an Oscar in 1983) - have a long tradition, and derivie inspiration from Poland's graphic arts.

Theatre

The Polish avant-garde theatre is world-famous, with Jerzy Grotowski as its most innovative and creative representative. One of the most original twentieth-century theatre personalities was Tadeusz Kantor, painter, theoretician of drama, stage designer, and playwright, his ideas finding their culmination in the theatre of death and his most recognised production being "Umarła klasa" (Dead Class).

Museums and festivals

Poland offers a wide spectrum of cultural experience. Those interested in high culture will enjoy the renowned music festivals like Wratislavia Cantans and the Warsaw Autumn. Polish museums exhibit remarkable art collections - masterpieces including Leonardo da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine at the Czartoryski Museum in Kraków; the Veit Stoss High Altar in St. Mary's Basilica, Kraków; and the Last Judgement by Hans Memling (The National Museum in Gdańsk). Ethnographic museums and open-air site-seeing museums also hold attractive collections. The panorama of Polish culture is completed by a medley of local festivals

Main areas of interest

Specific articles

See also

• Culture of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1567-1795)
• Positivism in Poland in the 19th century
• Young Poland Period (1890-1914)
• Culture of Kraków
• Polonia
• Polonization
• Slavic mythology

References

External links

• Commonwealth of Diverse Cultures: Poland's Heritage
• Polish Culture Website
• http://www.culture.pl
• http://www.polishculture.co.uk