From 24 October 2014 to 1 February 2015, the National Museum in Kraków will host a retrospective on the works of painter Olga Boznańska. One of the artist's most famous paintings, "Girl with Chrysanthemums", will be given pride of place in this exhibit, as it has just been restored thanks to the BNP Paribas Foundation's "BNP Paribas for Art" programme with the support of the Fundacja BNP Paribas in Poland.

An important figure in modernist painting, Olga Boznańska (1865-1940) set herself apart through the evocative power of her works, which left an indelible mark on the period. The daughter of a Polish father and French mother, she grew up in Kraków, studied fine art in Munich and moved to Paris, where she began a brilliant career as a portrait painter. Her works are distinguished by their harmonious palettes and the elegance with which she placed her models in intimate settings.

Her major work, "Girl with Chrysanthemums", marked the high point of the Franco-Polish painter's artistic development. In the words of Swiss art critic William Ritter, "It is an enigmatic child that will drive mad those who scrutinise her for too long."  

Today, this painting has been returned to its original radiance through restoration work carried out in the Kraków museum's studios over the last few months.



The project is part of the "BNP Paribas for Art" programme launched 20 years ago by the BNP Paribas Foundation. Thanks to this programme, more than 200 artworks or groups of artworks have been restored since 1994, including 15 in the collections of international museums.

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