K. Poznański, industrialist, economic and political activist, and then by his nephew Maurycy Ignacy. The building was probably designed by Adolf Zeligson, an architect working for the Poznański family. Situated at the intersection of Więckowskiego and Gdańska Streets, the palace has completely retained its original structure and the rich variety of external stucco decorations. Its form is compared by researchers to Renaissance Venetian palaces. The noteworthy features inside include the staircase, the mirror room and the lecture hall.

History

The palace was built between 1896 and 1900. From the very beginning, it was functionally connected with the adjacent townhouse from 1880.

In 1902, electricity was installed in both buildings. In the same year, A. Zeligson designed additional buildings that were to accompany the palace: a two-storey residential wing, an orangery and a single-storey outbuilding. The buildings were built in 1903.

 In the interwar period, some minor alteration works were carried out inside the palace.

Until 1940, Ignacy’s son, Maurycy, resided in the palace. He and his family lived in a large apartment on the second floor. The remaining luxury apartments were rented to high-ranking officials from the Poznański’s factories and to chief executive officers and directors of the press company run by Maurycy Poznański. At the beginning of 1940, the palace was seized by the Germans, and in January 1945 by the Soviet army.

In 1946, the then president of the city of Łódź decided that the vandalized palace would be made available for use by the Municipal Art Museum.

In 1948, after a thorough reconstruction of the interior and the transfer of the collections from the original location at Plac Wolności 1 (No. 1 Liberty Square), the museum opened its premises to the public. At that time, the director of the Museum, Marian Minich, invited Władysław Strzemiński to design the new exhibition areas. This is how the Neoplastic Room was created, in which a collection of the European avant-garde art, assembled at the initiative of the “a.r.” group, is presented. In 1950, the room was painted over following the introduction of the socialist realist doctrine, and it was not reconstructed until 1960.

In 1983, after the garden had been separated from the property, the premises came into the ownership of the State Treasury. In the same year, the elevations of the palace were restored for the first time.

In 1998, the Museum of Art was entered in the National Registry of Museums under number 53.

In 2012, the palace reopened its premises to the public after having been thoroughly renovated. The historical interiors were restored too, including the lecture hall and the mirror room. From the south, the palace is adjoined by a garden, where open-air events, film screenings and concerts take place. The museum facilities at ms1 include a library and a café, which are open to the general public. At present, ms1 is a place which presents the most interesting phenomena and personalities associated with contemporary art. Established in 1930, the museum is now one of the oldest museums collecting avant-garde art.

Description

The museum building occupies a spacious corner plot at the intersection of Więckowskiego and Gdańska Streets. Its compact building has an irregular shape as a result of having been connected with the no longer existing townhouse. The main entrance to the building is from Więckowskiego Street. The two-storey principal block is set on a massive, high plinth. On the ground floor, the walls and the corners are accentuated with rusticated plasterwork. The semi-circular window openings are framed by narrow surrounds and slender semi-columns. Particular window axes are separated by tall, slender half-columns. On the ground floor, the surfaces above the tops of the windows are filled with figures of winged dragons with bird heads. On the first floor, they are decorated with putti and on the second floor - with rich floral ornaments. The rectangular surfaces under the windows of the 1st and 2nd floor are filled with balusters. In the attic section, there are double garlands between small oval windows. The surfaces above them are decorated with alternating masks of a lion and a man, with two of each in each surface. Particular storeys are separated by richly profiled cornices. The whole is dominated by a baluster attic decorated with obelisks in the corners. In the elevation facing Gdańska Street, at the height of the first floor, there is a shallow avant-corps with a bay window. The elevation facing Więckowskiego Street is decorated with groups of allegorical figures, placed on the central axis. In between the window axes of the attic, there are decorative vases. The bay windows and the balconies rest on massive brackets supported underneath by pairs of heavy corbels. The surfaces of the supporting elements are covered with rich floral ornamentation. Inside, the noteworthy features include an elegant staircase with magnificent windows glazed with colourful stained glass with floral and allegorical motifs. Thorough conservation works have restored some of the rooms once inhabited by the Poznański family to their former glory. The other rooms have been adapted for purposes of the art gallery and the museum.

The museum can be visited during its opening hours.

Compiled by Patrycja Podgarbi, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Łódź 4 November 2016 and 2 February 2017

Bibliography

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• Kondek W., Łódzkie pałace, Łódź 1973
• Karnicka Z., Record sheet of monuments of architecture and construction, the Palace of the Poznański Family, February 1990, photo by Wiesława Jakubowska.
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