Palace Museum in Wilanów

The King John III Museum in Wilanów is a museum in Warsaw, Poland considered to be one of the oldest in the country and the repository of the country's royal and artistic heritage. The collection consists of valuables collected by subsequent owners of the Wilanów Palace, the kings of Poland — John III Sobieski and Augustus II, as well as by representatives of noble families of Potocki, and Lubomirski and a collection of Sarmatian art. History The Wilanów Palace was first opened to the public in 1805, when the owners of the palace, Stanisław Kostka Potocki and his wife Aleksandra Lubomirska created a museum, one of the first public museums in Poland. In 1877 the museum was popularized by the publication entitled Wilanów. Album widoków i pamiątek... edited by Hipolit Skimborowicz and Wojciech Gerson. This was followed in 1893 by a guide to the palace and its collections. After the Second World War, the palace was renovated. Collection The palace's collection started with its establishment by King John III Sobieski, who collected works of art and objects of everyday use. Only a fraction of King's collection survived to this day in the museum's current holdings, including two still life paintings by Abraham Mignon, portrait paintings and furnishings like Chinese quilt of Kings' wife Marysieńka. Originally the royal belongings included 6 paintings by Rembrandt and Johannes Vermeer 's The Love Letter, scattered after King's death. Collection highlights Painting A girl with forget-me-nots, Lucas Cranach the Elder Madonna and Child, Joos van Cleve Apollo and two Muses, Pompeo Batoni Portrait of Count Stanislas Potocki, Jacques-Louis David Madonna and Child, Peter Paul Rubens Portrait of Krystyna Potocka Watering Flowers on her Mother's Grave, Angelica Kauffmann A Youth Lighting a Torch, Jan Lievens Madonna and Child, Master of Frankfurt Sculpture and Applied arts Figurine of Shou Xing, Qing Dynasty Bust of Marie Casimire Sobieska.