The exhibition is designed to commemorate the centenary of Poland regaining independence. Its main premise is the confrontation of artistic representations of historical and political events with the transformations of Polish art on the threshold of the reborn state.

The exhibition presents works by Jacek Malczewski, Zofia Stryjeńska, Tadeusz Makowski, Witold Wojtkiewicz and many other artists living both on Polish territory and elsewhere. The war and struggle for Poland’s independence as well as its main actors, immortalized in paintings and portraits by Wojciech Kossak, Stanisław Fabijański, Władysław Wankie, Leopold Gottlieb and Leon Wyczółkowski are all presented. We also examine the participation of Polish artists in the armed conflict.

A separate part of the exhibition is devoted to the Polish-Soviet war and its image in art and propaganda. The story of Polish Legions, the figure of Józef Piłsudski as well as battle scene motifs are strongly highlighted here. The exhibition culminates with the foundation of the Sejm in 1919. Several hundred paintings, sculptures and prints are accompanied by numerous ephemera and photographs.

Pro-independence and patriotic motifs are presented from the angle of new, dynamically developing artistic trends, which would shape the modern image of the reborn Polish Republic in the years to come, as expressed in the new visual identification of the Polish State.