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Culture of Poland
The Culture of Poland is closely connected with
its intricate 1000 years of history
Cultural history
The unique character of Polish lifestyle was
shaping over a thousand years of history. The
national culture developed at the crossroads of the
Latinate and Byzantine worlds, in continual dialogue
with the many ethnic groups living in Poland. 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.
Customs
Dialogue and the interpenetration of cultures
have been a major characteristic of Polish tradition
for centuries. Customs, manners, and dress have
reflected the influences of East and West. The
traditional costumes worn by the gentry in the 16th
and 17th centuries were inspired by rich Eastern
ornamental style with its Islamic influences. Polish
cuisine is yet another aspect of Poland's
multifarious cultural identity.
Architecture
Polish 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.
Monument at Main Market Square in Kraków of Adam
Mickiewicz, one of the greatest Polish poets.History
has not been kind to Poland's architectural
monuments. However, a number of ancient edifices
have survived: castles, churches, and stately
buildings, sometimes unique in the regional or
European context. Some of them have been
painstakingly restored (the Wawel), or completely
reconstructed after being destroyed in the Second
World War (the Old Town and Royal Castle in Warsaw,
the Old Towns of Gdańsk and Wrocław). Kazimierz on
the Vistula is an example of a well-preserved
medieval town. Kraków ranks among the best preserved
Gothic and Renaissance urban complexes in Europe. 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.
Polish church architecture deserves special
attention. Some interesting buildings were also
constructed during the Communist regime in the style
of Socialist Realism; some remarkable examples of
modern architecture erected recently.
Art
"Stańczyk" painted by Jan Matejko.Polish art has
always reflected world trends while maintaining its
unique character. Jan Matejko's famous school of
Historicist painting produced monumental portrayals
of 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.
Literature
The origins of Polish literature written in the
Polish vernacular 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 ą
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 Buńuel,
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.
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 (Nobel
Prize in 1980), and Wisława Szymborska (Nobel Prize
in 1996) 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.
Romantic Legacy
Fryderyk Chopin greatest Polish composer.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. The music of Fryderyk Chopin, inspired by
Polish tradition and folklore, conveys the
quintessence of Romanticism. Since 1927, the Chopin
International Piano Competition, one of the world's
most prestigious piano competitions, has been held
every five years in Warsaw. Traditional Polish music
has inspired 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. 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,
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 Krzysztof
Kieślowski's films, such as "The Decalogue", "The
Double Life of Véronique", "Three Colors", 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.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Poland
