Tempus fugit

The problem of inevitable passage of time and falling into oblivion has been present in art for centuries. Artists have dealt with this topic in various ways: literally, for example by contrasting youthful beauty with an old face, but also through a wide range of allegories - creating poignant still lifes, personifications equipped with adequate attributes or presenting ruins of once flourishing cities. The selection includes works by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Václav Hollar, Jacob de Gheyn III and Henryk Hondius. The exhibition has the nature of 'juxtaposing the old with the new', so serving as counterpoints to historical images will be selected works of Polish conceptualists, introducing modern conventions of portraying time (including works by Stanisław Drózdz or Roman Opalka). The exhibition is the tenth display of graphic art prepared in collaboration with PAU Research Library and the Polish Academy of Sciences in Kraków.