Polish decorative arts are not widely known outside that country.
There are several reasons for this, including barriers in language,
politics, and culture. The exoticism of the Sarmatian culture, the
defense of a national identity under partition, the experience of
social realism, and the surviving folk culture have all helped to create
a nearly hermetic art incomprehensible to outside observers.
Polish material culture has been further complicated by the incessant
influx of art and culture from Western Europe and eventually
from the United States. This process, which began in the Middle
Ages, later brought with it stylistic influences, including Italian
Renaissance and baroque as well as French rococo and classicism.
Poland remained under the influence of French culture from the
18th century through the 1950s. Thereafter, in spite of the Cold
War and the Iron Curtain, a strong Anglo-Saxon influence developed.
This course explores this mixture of local tradition and
Western culture that has shaped the decorative arts in Poland from
the 15th to the 20th century. 3 credits.
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