Passion of spirituality or national art. The 1900 Universal World Exhibition in Paris

A review of the works which were displayed at the Exposition of the Decade (Grand Palais) indicates how essential the national aspect was for individual countries – an aspect shaped at the turn of the century by such factors as the need to strengthen national identity for some, the fight for independence for others, and the consolidation of newly-gained independence for yet other nations. A work of art became a mirror of political aspirations, of a conviction concerning the status of one’s own nation as a superpower, and an expression of the desire to became involved in the current, modern activities of the world at the time.

The 1900 exposition was a parade presenting a utopian vision of universal harmony among nations and states. In the 19^th century, there ensued an explosion of the quest for and rediscovery of national identifications, of the battle for independence on the part of the nations absorbed by economically and militarily powerful states, of world colonization and of aggressive Eurocentrism. Nationalistic moods accompanied artists who came from countries fighting for their independence, as well as those who represented states enjoying a stable geopolitical situation.

There were a large number of Poles displaying their works at the exposition; they represented mainly the Russian and Austrian section – as part of those sections, they obtained separated ‘Polish’ rooms. There was no question of any joint representation of art from the two Partitions, for the reservations of the Partition states were very strong. The Poles’ greatest successes were two gold medals awarded to two artists: Józef Mehoffer and Feliks Stanisław Jasiński.