Images of frames in paintings from The National Museum in Warsaw
by Monika Rdzanek-Solecka
This article began life as a presentation, ‘Images of frames in paintings from The National Museum in Warsaw (Poland) as a source of information about historical framing styles’, given at the Hobart frame symposium, which was held from 16th-18th February 2026 in Tasmania, Australia: FRAME: Concept, History and Conservation: Symposium 3.
Wojciech Stattler (1800-75), Portrait of Alfred Potocki and Adam Potocki, 1832, o/panel, 154.5 x 113 cm., Inv. no. MP 268 MNW. Photo: Piotr Ligier
Paintings and drawings which contain picture frames as an integral part of their composition are extremely valuable for research into the history of framing. Depictions of historical rooms, art collections and exhibitions are particularly interesting, as are genre scenes set in private rooms or in artists’ studios, where framed paintings often appear; sometimes they are also featured in the backgrounds of portraits, as part of the interior setting. Such images are a source of information about the layouts of exhibition, methods of mounting and hanging paintings or drawings, and the artist’s specific preferences regarding the style of frames used for their own work. Some details may reveal the actual profiles, shapes and styles which were fashionable at certain times, and may even identify other historical paintings in the frames in which they were displayed at that point.
Wojciech Stattler, Alfred Potocki and Adam Potocki, detail
The collection of the National Museum in Warsaw (NMW) includes many paintings, watercolours, and drawings in which frames are directly or indirectly the subject of the composition. During my research, I found around a hundred such works of art, and I am certain that this is not an exhaustive list. The authors of the works are both Polish and foreign artists, and the interiors shown have a local as well as an international character. Most of the pictures discussed below are stored in warehouses and are not part of the permanent exhibition accessible to the public, and these perhaps lesser-known artworks could become an interesting addition to those used in other comparative studies.
This article brings together the most interesting and representative images of those types. They have been organized by their subjects or settings: collections/collectors, historical rooms, private interiors, exhibitions, artists’ studios, frame designs and impressions.
Collections/collectors
Jan Czesław Moniuszko (1853–1908), King Stanisław August Poniatowski in Petersburg, 1880–1910, o/c, 64.5 x 90 cm., and detail; Inv. no. MP 1115 NMW. Photo: Krzysztof Wilczyński
I shall begin with a painting which shows the last Polish king, Stanisław August Poniatowski (1732–1798), a great collector of European art and a patron of artists. The scene depicts the king’s final days, which he spent in exile in St Petersburg. Jan Czesław Moniuszko painted it almost a hundred years later, as a symbolic summary of Poniatowski’s political decisions. We are shown the king looking at a painting of his summer residence, the Royal Łazienki, a famous Baroque pavilion which he had transformed into a NeoClassical palace; it was located in the suburbs of Warsaw. The painting is set in a Louis XV-style frame decorated with scrolling foliate and shell corners and centres – one of the many details which the artist uses to illustrate the king’s interest in the fashionable European art of the time.
Anton Franz Hampisch (1732–1768), Interior of a picture gallery, 18th century, o/c, 76 x 101 cm., and detail; Inv. no. M.Ob.1475 MNW. Photo: Krzysztof Wilczyński
This 18th century scene, Interior of a picture gallery, was painted by the Czech artist, Anton Franz Hampisch. The interior he shows draws particular attention to the very uniform and orderly framing style of the paintings comprising the collection. Here we can see two patterns of Dutch-style cabinetmaker’s frame – one with a deep outer chamfer and dark brown finish, resembling oak or fruit wood. The second type is characterised by a higher top edge and shallow hollow slanting toward the sight edge, and finished with what is probably polished black lacquer. Each frame has two narrow inner or outer fillets with gilded finish.
David Teniers the younger (1610-90), The picture gallery of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in Brussels, 1653, o/c, 70.9 x 87.6 cm., private collection
Hanna Benesz, a Polish researcher, discovered that the composition is based on the mirror-image of a gallery in Brussels painted by David II Teniers – one of the group of his works showing the collection belonging to Archduke Leopold Wilhelm van Habsburg. She also found another painting by Hampisch in The National Gallery in Prague, which is probably the prototype of the Warsaw version. According to the researcher, Hampisch was one of the painters who inventoried and appraised the collection of two Czech aristocratic families: Nostitz and Kolowrat-Liebsteinski. Marcela Vondráčková, a Czech researcher, identified portraits of two of Kolowrat-Liebsteinsky’s family members in the Prague painting [1]. The history of this painting shows how many variations of the same theme can be found in different museums. It also provides information about framing styles in the great European collections.
Historical rooms
Franz Heinrich (1802–1890), Empress Alexandra and Grand Princess Olga at the Uffizi Gallery, c.1840, cardboard on paper, watercolour, gouache, pencil, 44.5 x 64 cm.; Inv. no. 189089 MNW, NMW deposit. Photo: NMW
Similar conclusions can be drawn from the next piece of art. The magnificent octagonal room known as the Tribuna, in the Gallerie degli Uffizi in Florence, was designed to exhibit the Medici family’s private art collection. It was – and still is – the subject of many paintings, drawings and contemporary photographs, which document this famous exhibition at different moments of its existence. This watercolour from the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw by Franz Heinrich (1802–1890), an Austrian-American painter, depicts the interior during an historical moment which took place probably around 1840, during Empress Alexandra’s visit to Palermo. The watercolour, with its precisely designed, challenging foreshortenings, allows us to identify various types of frames.
Franz Heinrich, Empress Alexandra and Grand Princess Olga at the Uffizi Gallery, details
We can see frames from different periods, for example: a Mannerist Auricular frame[2], Baroque leaf frames with scrolling acanthus foliage, frames with shell centres and corners, and a classicizing aedicular frame. This relatively small painting reveals the framing of quite a number of European masterpieces from the Medici collection, thus providing us with important material for larger comparative studies.
Aleksander Gryglewski (1833–1879), Interior of the royal bedroom at the Wilanów Palace, 1873, o/c, 64 x 88 cm.; Inv. no. MP 184 MNW. Photo: Piotr Ligier
The work of painters who specialized in documenting architecture and interiors is especially valuable for the reconstruction of the history of picture framing. Polish art history has many artists who were particularly dedicated to this field, one being Aleksander Gryglewski, who documented some of the most valuable secular and sacred architecture not only in Polish cities, but also in Prague, Vienna, Lviv, and Pidhirtsi [3]. When depicting architectural interiors, he relied on his in-depth knowledge and understanding of the principles of perspective. The interior presented here shows the queen’s bedroom in the famous Polish royal residence in Wilanów.
Gryglewski, Interior of the royal bedroom…, detail of the king’s portrait
The richly-decorated Baroque interior features a small, intimate portrait of the queen’s husband, John III Sobieski, visible in the central part of the painting [4]. The figure is recognizable not only due to his characteristic appearance, but also thanks to the oval frame, which is decorated with bay leaves (symbolizing victory ) and the coat of arms at the crest with a crown – called ‘Janina‘, supported by two putti.
Private interiors
Due to the origins of its collection, the National Museum in Warsaw has numerous pieces of art representing private bourgeois interiors. It is worth remembering that in 2017 the Museum organized a large exhibition entitled Biedermeier, which included paintings, miniatures, drawings, furniture and applied art from the first half of the 19th century [5].
Wincenty Kasprzycki (1802–1849), Interior of the living room in the apartment of Friedrich Carl Count Nesselrode in Warsaw, c.1846, o/c, 65.5 x 84 cm ; Inv. no. NB 966 MNW. Photo: NMW
This painting, by Wincenty Kasprzycki, depicts an interesting arrangement in Count Nesselrode’s Warsaw apartment. Small-format genre scenes are framed in a profile with uniform decoration. A light-coloured mount is visible on the inside.
Kasprzycki, Interior of the living room…, detail
The frames, probably finished with black lacquer, have a narrow profile with a hollow or scotia. The top and sight edges of the frames are finished with a golden fillet. The corners feature a subtle, gilded palmette ornament, reminiscent of the Empire style. The paintings hang in an attention-grabbing manner – on thick, dark ropes or leather straps, which stand out against the green walls, and are suspended from pegs topped with depictions of human faces. The work itself has a polished wooden frame in Beidermeier style
Aleksander Kokular (1793–1846), Drawing-room in the artist’s house, 1830, o/c, 71 x 92 cm., Inv. no. MP 304 MNW. Photo: Piotr Ligier
Aleksander Kokular’s Drawing-room in the artist’s house is a work which displays both the painter’s private and professional lives. He was a co-founder of the Warsaw School of Fine Arts, and an art collector as well as a painter. The interior scene is a variation on a family portrait – the painter’s wife and daughters are shown in a living-room, its walls tightly packed with paintings. On the wall facing the viewer there are portraits, and Kokular’s famous life-sized mythological depiction of Oedipus and Antigone. On the side wall there are genre scenes, landscapes, and views of cities and ports.
Aleksander Kokular, Drawing-room…, detail
The paintings are not framed identically, but they have a certain stylistic uniformity – the vast majority of them have a deep scotia and are decorated with egg-&-dart mouldings, characteristic of the fashion in Warsaw at the time. There is also a cushion frame of the same width decorated with ribbon-bound fasces, or reeds. All of them are gilded, although the tone of the gold varies very slightly, from frames to frame.
Aleksander Kokular, Drawing-room…, detail
The other predominant style is a frame with a fluted hollow and acanthus leaves in the corners. This display wasn’t just for members of the household: Aleksander Kokular also opened his house to visitors [6].
Exhibitions
Wincenty Kasprzycki (1802–1849), Fine Arts Exhibition in Warsaw in 1828, 1828,o/c, 94.5 x 111 cm., Inv. no. MP 298 MNW. Photo: Krzysztof Wilczyński
Attending art exhibitions was an essential element of bourgeois, social and public life. This painting – Fine Arts Exhibition in Warsaw in 1828 by Wincenty Kasprzycki – is also a group portrait of Warsaw painters of the time [7]; and it provides some interesting technical information regarding the method of displaying the pictures. They are mounted on a wooden structure attached to the wall with metal brackets, whilst small paintings, hung at child’s eye level, are attached to a wooden beam with a string, their upper edges forming a straight line.
Wincenty Kasprzycki, Fine Arts Exhibition in Warsaw in 1828, detail
Larger paintings rest their lower edges on wooden or metal supports driven into the wood, and are secured at the top by ropes hanging from above, which allow them to incline towards the viewers at an angle of approximately 20 degrees. We can see that the framing of many of the paintings is in in Louis XVI or NeoClassical revival style, which features a scotia decorated with recognizable shallow acanthus ornamentation. There are also frames with an egg-&-dart moulding, as well as some with visible Empire influences.
Władysław Malecki (1836–1900), The interior of the TZSP exhibition in the former Bernardine Monastery, 1884, o/c, 33 x 33 cm., and detail, Inv. no. MP 608 MNW. Photo: Krzysztof Wilczyński
Władysław Malecki’s painting of almost sixty years later presents a different style of display. The Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in Warsaw supported artists by organizing exhibitions, among other activities, which gave them the opportunity to present their art, be evaluated by art critics and the public, and gain recognition. Such exhibitions also provided an opportunity to sell the pieces of art presented. The framing of the paintings accepted by the Society’s exhibitions depended on the artist’s or owner’s preferences, their financial resources, and social aspirations. As opposed to the very homogenous styles shown in the previous painting, here there is a noticeable diversity of frame patterns, with black and parcel-gilt frames, carved giltwood, a richly ornamented frame in a shadow-box, and what appear to be several white-painted mouldings. This reflects the tendency in the second half of the 19th century to replicate and combine frame designs from different historical periods, as well as for artists to follow contemporary avant-garde fashion.
Artists’ studios
Hendrick Govaerts (1669–1720), Visit to the painter’s studio, after 1689, o/c, 69.5 x 83 cm., and detail, Inv. no. M.Ob.1725 MNW. Photo: Piotr Ligier
Framed paintings frequently appear in works which show artists’ studios. This is a Visit to the painter’s studio by the Flemish painter Hendrick Govaerts, executed after 1689. The central group of figures is examining the portrait of a gentleman, which is set in a convex giltwood frame with undulating festoons of ribbons holding leaf buds on the main moulding, with acanthus leaf corners. The back edge seems to be decorated with bay leaves, and the sight edge – which is rather difficult to make out – has acanthus tips or a spiral ribbon, with an astragal-&-bead inside it. This type of frame is a contemporary version of the Louis XIII style. In the background the walls are hung with ebony or ebonized frames.
Władysław Malecki (1836–1900), Studio interior, 1883, o/c, 46 x 65 cm., and detail, Inv. no. MP 600 MNW. Photo: Piotr Ligier
Leon Wyczółkowski (1852–1936), In the painter’s studio, 1883, o/c, 60 x 31 cm., Inv. no. MP 5530 MNW. Photo: Krzysztof Wilczyński
Many genre scenes taking place in artists’ studios disclose the complexities of the spaces where they work. When it comes to the painting/frame correlation, it is noteworthy that many artists made their final touches to canvases which were already in their frames – both the paintings above show the new works propped on easels and framed (at least temporarily). This fairly common practice is frequently noted during the conservation process, which discloses brushstrokes or smears of colour on the sight edge; it was the way in which the artist could check that the tonality of the frame harmonized with that of the painting.
Drawings of frames
Władysław Sztolcman (1873–1950), corner of a looking-glass frame and its cross-section, 1915, life-size, watercolour, pen-&-ink, paper, 35.8 x 25.9 cm., Saloon of the Palace on the Isle, Royal Łazienki Park, Inv. no: DI 4747 MNW; Photo: NMW
Władysław Sztolcman (1873–1950), part of a looking-glass frame and its cross-section with joint, 1915, watercolour, pen-&-ink, paper, 35.8 x 25.7 cm., Saloon of the Palace on the Isle, Royal Łazienki Park, Inv. no: DI 4778 MNW. Photo: NMW
Mariusz Maszyński (1888–1944), a looking-glass frame: façade, cross-section & corner detail, 1915, watercolour, pen-&-ink, paper, 35.9 x 51 cm. (double sheet, unfolded), Saloon of the Palace on the Isle, Royal Łazienki Park, Inv. no: DI 4697 MNW. Photo: NMW
Mariusz Maszyński (1888–1944), frame from a dividing wall partition of bronzed wood, cross-section & corner detail, 1915, watercolour, pen-&-ink, paper, 35.7 x 25.9 cm., Picture Gallery, Royal Łazienki Park, Inv. no: DI 4783 MNW. Photo: NMW
Mariusz Maszyński (1888–1944), part of a looking-glass frame & cross-section, 1915, life-size, watercolour, pen-&-ink, card, 35.8 x 25.8 cm., Picture Gallery, Royal Łazienki Park, Inv. no: DI 4784 MNW. Photo: NMW
Mariusz Maszyński (1888–1944), part of a carved, painted (white frieze) and parcel-gilt wooden door frame & cross-section, 1915, life-size, watercolour, pen-&-ink, paper, 35.8 x 25.8 cm., Picture Gallery, Royal Łazienki Park, Inv. no: DI 4785 MNW. Photo: NMW
Mariusz Maszyński (1888–1944), part of carved giltwood wall trim & cross-section, 1915, life-size, watercolour, pen-&-ink, paper, 35.8 x 25.8 cm., Picture Gallery, Royal Łazienki Park, Inv. no: DI 4786 MNW. Photo: NMW
In 1915, the buildings of the late 18th century Royal Łazienki palace and park complex in Warsaw were completely inventoried. As part of this process numerous drawings and watercolours were produced, documenting the interiors – furniture, architectural elements, and frames [8]. The drawings show cross-sections and ornamental details, mainly from looking-glass frames in the palace and associated buildings. The artists were Władysław Sztolcman (1873–1950), a draughtsman, cataloguer, designer, and conservator, and Mariusz Maszyński (1888–1944), a graduate of architecture at the Lviv Polytechnic.
Aleksander Lesser (1814–1884), A carved frame with outset corners and military trophies, including banners, a crowned eagle holding sceptre and orb, weapons, and a helmet and sword at the crest, 1830–84, paper on card, pencil, watercolour, Inv. no: DI 27770 MNW. Photo: NMW
This drawing of (or design for) a frame is by Aleksander Lesser, an artist specializing in depicting historical figures, costumes, and architectural elements. His design is based on a Mannerist or Palladian-style architrave pattern, with outset corners. The trophies – helmet, sword, eagle, and, of course, the acronym SPQR – refer to the traditional symbols associated with the military power of ancient Rome; but they also include more modern attributes of war – drums and cannon, and the cross-shaped order.
Impressions
Stanisław Noakowski (1867–1928), detail of a Rococo interior with boiseries and an overdoor frame, from a cycle of postcards, 1914–1916, pen-&-ink and watercolour on board, 13.9 x 8,9 cm., Inv. no: Rys.Pol. 11598 MNW. Photo: MNW
Since the history of architecture and picture framing are so intertwined, this essay concludes with Stanisław Noakowski, an architect and a watercolourist who devoted his work to depicting elements of historic architecture. His sparse, sketch-like drawings and watercolours show porticos, frames, borders, cartouches, and altarpieces. With remarkable skill, the artist captures the essence of architectural periods in a few strokes. He often refers to existing buildings in his work, but also creates his own visions, which a Polish researcher, Piotr Paweł Czyż, called ‘architectural fantasies’ [9].
Jerzy Krawczyk (1921–69), Didactic, Photo: NMW
And one final note from later in the 20th century – the Polish painter Jerzy Krawczyk set his surrealist compositions in integral painted frames, which were often layered, one within another. For an introduction to his work, see this article by Karolina Zychowicz: ‘Surrealizm zaangażowany. Malarstwo Jerzego Krawczyka wobec realizmu socjalistycznego‘.
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Bibliography:
Benesz and M. Kluk, Early Netherlandish, Dutch, Flemish and Belgian paintings 1494–1983 in the collections of the National Museum in Warsaw and the Palace at Nieborów. Complete illustrated summary catalogue., Warsaw, 2016
Bołdok, Antykwariaty, artystyczne salony i domy aukcyjne. Historia warszawskiego rynku sztuki w latach 1800–1950, Warsaw, 2004
P.P. Czyż, Reminiscencje i fantazje architektoniczne Stanisława Noakowskiego
Gene Karraker, Looking at European frames: a guide to terms, styles, and techniques, Los Angeles, 2009
Kozak and Rosales Rodríguez (eds), Biedermeier, exh. cat., Warsaw, 2017
Mączewska, ‘Bronisław Gembarzewski’s Iconographic Archive and its draughtsmen in the years 1914–23’, Journal of the National Museum in Warsaw, new series 2018: 7 (43), pp. 11–58
Mączewska, ‘Wyposażenie rezydencji królewskich w Warszawie w 1915 roku na akwarelach i fotografiach w kolekcji MNW‘
Mielniczuk and B. Grzegorzewski, Historia ramy do obrazu, Warsaw, 1998
Paul Mitchell and Lynn Roberts, A history of European picture frames, London, 1996
Timothy Newbery, Frames and framings in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 2002
Olkowski, Towarzystwo Zachęty Sztuk Pięknych w Warszawie (1860–1940, 1948). Zarys historyczny i katalog zbiorów, vol. 1–3, Warsaw, 2020
Nicholas Penny, A closer look frames, London, 2010
Lynn Roberts, Trophy Frames
Maurin-Białostocka (ed.), Słownik artystów polskich i obcych w Polsce działających (zmarłych przed 1966 r.) : malarze, rzeźbiarze, graficy, Wroclaw, 1971
Suzanne Smeaton, French Louis frames at The Getty Center
National Museum in Warsaw, The gallery of 19th century art. Guidebook, Warsaw, 2022
K. Zychowicz, ‘Surrealizm zaangażowany. Malarstwo Jerzego Krawczyka wobec realizmu socjalistycznego‘
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Monika Rdzanek-Solecka has been a frame conservator in the Frames and Gilding Art Department at the National Museum in Warsaw since 2016. She obtained a Master of Arts degree from the Faculty of Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art, specialising in the conservation of paintings and polychrome sculptures (Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, 2010). Monika has also completed Postgraduate Studies in Museology (Faculty of History, University of Warsaw, 2020) with a thesis entitled: ‘A difficult legacy. An outline of the history and issues surrounding the collection of frames at the National Museum in Warsaw’.
She gained her professional experience in the conservation of polychrome wooden panels, altarpieces, organs, works in plaster and stucco, easel and wall paintings, both in Poland and abroad. Monika is interested in the methodology of caring for historical frames in a museum institution as well as the aesthetic solutions used during the conservation process.
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[1] Hanna Benesz, Museum catalogue entry
[2] Lynn Roberts, ‘Science, gardens and the Baroque frame‘, The Frame Blog
[3] See, for instance, Interior of the palace in Pidhirtsi, c.1871
[4] W. Głowacki, The Gallery of 19th Century Art. Guidebook, National Museum in Warsaw, Warsaw 2022, pp. 216–217
[5] See Museum record of the exhibition Biedermeier, October-January 2017
[6] W. Głowacki, op. cit., p. 199
[7] A. Bagińska, Museum catalogue entry
[8] K. Mączewska, ‘Wyposażenie rezydencji królewskich w Warszawie w 1915 roku na akwarelach i fotografiach w kolekcji MNW‘
[9] P.P. Czyż, ‘Reminiscencje i fantazje architektoniczne Stanisława Noakowskiego‘
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