Adolph Menzel (1815-1905). The Tireless Observer

The first monographic exhibition in Poland devoted to Adolph Menzel, one of the most important 19th-century German artists - and an occasion to reckon with provenance: part of the museum’s Menzel drawings and prints come from pre-war German collections that became Polish property after the border changes of 1945.

National Museum on the exhibition:

Adolph Menzel is regarded as one of the most important German artists. His long life spanned almost the entire 19th century, and with it the shifting currents and movements in art. In Menzel’s painting, printmaking, and drawing we find references to - to use the traditional terms - Biedermeier, Romanticism, Realism, Historicism, and Impressionism.

The collection of the National Museum in Warsaw holds 45 drawings and over 200 prints by the artist. The exhibition presents them in two contexts. On one hand, this first monographic presentation of Menzel’s work in Poland - made possible through collaboration with the Alte Nationalgalerie and Kupferstichkabinett in Berlin as well as the national museums in Wrocław and Poznań - will show paintings, drawings, and prints illustrating every aspect of his rich body of work. The second major theme is the question of provenance for the Menzel drawings and prints in the National Museum’s collection, which come from pre-war German collections. This group is an excellent lens for a broader reflection on the fate of works that became the property of Polish cultural institutions as a result of the 1945 border changes - concentrating, as if through a magnifying glass, today’s challenges around provenance research.

What to expect

The exhibition opens on 11 September and runs through 13 December 2026 in the Main Building of the National Museum. It’s the first monographic presentation of Adolph Menzel in Poland - paintings, drawings, and prints assembled through collaboration with Berlin’s Alte Nationalgalerie and Kupferstichkabinett and the national museums in Wrocław and Poznań. A less obvious thread runs alongside it: provenance. Part of the museum’s Menzel holdings come from pre-war German collections that entered Polish institutions after the 1945 border changes.

Tickets and opening hours are on the National Museum’s website.

Museum profile: National Museum in Warsaw.