National Museum in Poznań

The National Museum in Poznan (Polish: Muzeum Narodowe w Poznaniu), abbreviated MNP, is a state-owned cultural institution in Poznan, Poland. It ranks among the oldest, largest, and most significant museums in the country. The institution holds a rich and highly diverse collection spanning centuries of heritage, from antiquity to contemporary times. Its holdings are distinguished by comprehensive surveys of Polish painting from the sixteenth century onward, alongside a notable collection of foreign painting encompassing Italian, Spanish, Dutch, and German schools. The museum also preserves numismatic collections and a gallery of applied arts.

The Gallery of Polish Art features works by prominent artists such as Jan Matejko, Olga Boznanska, Jacek Malczewski, Stanislaw Wyspianski, Leon Wyczolkowski, and Wladyslaw Czachorski, alongside Polish-baroque casket portraits. The main building houses one of the largest galleries of foreign painting in Poland, predominantly originating from the Raczynski collection. This foreign collection includes the only collection of Spanish paintings in Poland, with masterpieces by Francisco de Zurbaran, Jusepe de Ribera, and Diego Velazquez (or his workshop). Other notable foreign works include Sofonisba Anguissola's The Chess Game, Angelo Bronzino's Portrait of Cosimo de Medici in Armour, Alonso Sanchez Coello's The Royal Banquet, Quentin Massys's Virgin and Child with the Lamb, Claude Monet's The Beach at Pourville, and Bernardo Strozzi's The Abduction of Europe. Flemish and Dutch paintings by Jan van Goyen, Salomon Ruysdael, and Willem Claesz Heda are also held, as are early nineteenth-century German works by Arnold Bocklin and Johann Overbeck. Additionally, the museum holds Anton Moller's 1600 triptych, Model of the World and Gdansk Society, Allegory of Wealth, and Allegory of Arrogance.

The current main building of the National Museum in Poznan dates to the early twentieth century. It was designed by architect Carl Hinckeldeyn and constructed in 1904 in the historicist style. The structure was subsequently expanded with a modern north wing designed by Marian Trzaska at the turn of the 1960s and 1970s, which was later adapted by Witold Gyurkovich in the 1990s before opening in 2001.

The National Museum in Poznan is located in the city of Poznan, Poland. As a state-owned cultural institution, it operates under the auspices of the Polish government. The museum maintains an active public role, welcoming visitors to its main building and its numerous regional branches. Further information regarding access, exhibitions, and collections is available on its official website.