Heliograms in the Solomon Room. In Search of Light

The most interesting answer Łazienki has given to the question “what do you put in an empty frame when the painting is gone”: not a reconstruction, but a contemporary work that changes under the sun. In the Palace on the Isle until 31 January 2027.

The Royal Łazienki Museum on the exhibition:

Heliograms by Nicolas Grospierre are on show at a temporary exhibition in the Solomon Room in the Palace on the Isle. Created through the power of light, colour and matter, the works fill the empty fields left by Marcello Bacciarelli’s paintings, destroyed during the Second World War.

The large-format paintings in the Solomon Room were made by Marcello Bacciarelli between 1788 and 1793 as part of King Stanisław August’s iconographic programme. On the walls and vault the court painter depicted scenes from the history of the biblical King Solomon. That is where the majestic interior takes its name from.

Both the ceiling painting and the wall paintings in the Solomon Room were completely destroyed in the fire the Germans set in the Palace on the Isle as they left the Royal Łazienki in 1944. Since the 1960s, when the monument reopened to the public after its post-war restoration, two great gilded frames, the ceiling panel and the cove fields have stood empty.

After numerous debates among experts, including art historians and conservators, on reconstructing the painted decoration of the Solomon Room, the Royal Łazienki Museum decided to invite contemporary artists to attempt to rediscover Stanisław August’s artistic and intellectual visions. The project opens with works by Nicolas Grospierre.

What to expect

The display is in the Solomon Room in the Palace on the Isle, covered by the Royal Łazienki Museum multi-site pass; admission is free on Fridays. The museum marks this interior as accessible to visitors with reduced mobility. Go on a sunny day - the heliograms react to light, so the weather genuinely changes what you see. On view until 31 January 2027.

Tickets and opening hours are on the museum’s website.

Museum profile: Royal Łazienki Museum.