Wladyslaw Podkowiński – Frenzy of elation | DKJo!

During the next DKJo! We will talk about the most famous act of Polish painting. Wladyslaw Podkowiński’s Frenzy of Exultation is a painting around which myths, urban legends and hundreds of interpretations have grown. To this day, it is not known why the painter, on April 24, 1894, asked a janitor for a ladder, which he set up next to his own painting. He then climbed it, drew a knife and dealt 16 blows to the canvas… Displeasure, rage, self-censorship? What is certain is that the painting later underwent restoration, was saved and today can be admired in Krakow’s Cloth Hall.

What you will experience during the DKJo meeting!

• We will talk about the work, which, with its scandalous nature, sparked a lively discussion about the role of art.
• We will learn stories and curiosities related to the painting.
• We will consider to what extent Podkowiński managed to reflect the spirit of the “Fin de siècle” era.
• Together we will inquire to what extent it is a symbolic painting.

As always, you will be able to share your interpretations of the painting. The meeting, in which everyone has the right to speak and the opportunity for their interpretation of the work under discussion, will be led by art historian Lukasz Wudarski.