Off the Path. Maria and Piotr's Bicycle Journeys

This exhibition at the Maria Skłodowska-Curie Museum tells the story of Maria and Piotr Curie from the private side rather than the laboratory one. The starting point is a photograph of the couple with their wedding gift - two bicycles. From there it runs in two directions: their shared trips through meadows and forests, and the bicycle’s role in women’s emancipation around the turn of the century.

muzeum-marii-curie on the exhibition:

The exhibition ‘Off the Path. Maria and Piotr’s Bicycle Journeys’ at the Maria Skłodowska-Curie Museum in Warsaw invites visitors to look at the lives of the famous Nobel laureates from a different perspective. The starting point for this story is an unusual photograph in which Maria Skłodowska-Curie and Piotr Curie pose with their wedding gift - two bicycles. This image becomes a beautiful symbol of their relationship, which was based on freedom and jointly crossing boundaries. Although the story of this couple is most often told through the prism of their groundbreaking scientific work, the exhibition directs visitors’ attention to their private lives. It highlights their shared fascination with nature and their love for free wandering through meadows and forests, showing them as people who valued closeness, love, and courage in choosing their own path in life.

The ‘Off the Path’ exhibition places the story of Maria and Piotr Curie in the broader social context of the turn of the century. Here, the bicycle is shown not only as a means of transport but primarily as a tool for women’s emancipation and one of the key symbols of the quiet revolution of modernity. In the 1890s, the popularization of the bicycle opened up entirely new possibilities for women. They gained greater freedom of movement, which allowed them a wider presence in public spaces. The accompanying cycling fashion, which was much more functional and less restrictive than the attire of the time, became a clear manifestation of the changing role of women in society.

The exhibition presents various exhibits that help visitors transport themselves into the world of Maria and Piotr. Among them is the couple’s famous cycling photo session, as well as their wedding photograph. Visitors can also see depictions of the house and garden in Sceaux, where the Nobel laureates’ wedding reception took place. For enthusiasts of technology and bicycle history, a road-track bicycle from around 1910 has been prepared. A reconstruction of a women’s cycling outfit from the early 20th century complements this, illustrating the aforementioned revolution in fashion and customs.

An integral and unique part of the exhibition is a drawn animation titled ‘Poza szlakiem’. This is the work of Zofia Brzezińska, a student at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. This atmospheric visual story about the Curie couple’s bicycle journey was constructed from fragments of memories that have survived to our times, as well as from what we can only surmise based on available sources. The animation adds a personal and reflective dimension to the exhibition, allowing for a deeper immersion into the intimate world of Maria and Piotr.

What to expect

What you will mostly see is photographic material: the couple’s famous cycling photo session and their wedding photograph, plus depictions of the house and garden in Sceaux, where the wedding reception was held. Together these show Maria and Piotr as people who valued closeness and the courage to choose their own path in life, rather than as textbook Nobel laureates.

The second thread is social. The bicycle appears here as a tool of women’s emancipation and one of the key symbols of the quiet revolution of modernity. In the 1890s, its spread gave women greater freedom of movement and a wider presence in public space. That thread has physical anchors: a road-track bicycle from around 1910 for anyone interested in the history of the machine, and a reconstruction of a women’s cycling outfit from the early 20th century, far more functional and less restrictive than the everyday dress of the period.

A separate part of the show is a drawn animation, „Poza szlakiem”, by Zofia Brzezińska, a student at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. This atmospheric visual story about the Curies’ bicycle journey was assembled from surviving fragments of memory and from what can only be surmised from the available sources. Leave a moment for it - it is what gives the exhibition its personal, reflective tone. The exhibition runs from 21 April to 29 November 2026.