THURSDAY LECTURE/Styles of vision: between realism and constructivism

6 p.m.

Lecture accompanying the exhibition [Adolph Menzel (1815—1905). The Tireless Observer] (https://www.mnw.art.pl/wystawy/adolph-menzel-18151905-niestrudzony-obserwator,277.html)

Hosted by: Mateusz Salwa

According to Louis Fleck, the knowledge of reality is possible only within the framework of a certain “style of thought”. With this reference to the artistic category, the Polish biologist and philosopher drew attention to the conventionality of knowledge. His concept can also be applied to art, considering it as the artistic equivalent of a “style of thinking” — a “style of vision” discernible in works that reflect it as much as they produce and reproduce it. Looking at the paintings through the prism of the “style of vision”, one can pay attention to how much artistic creation is hidden in realism, and to bring out individual and collective aspects of creativity.

Deadline: Thursday, October 15, 2026, 6 p.m./[Check the dates of the next lectures] (https://www.mnw.art.pl/edukacja/mlodziez-dorosli/wyklady-czwartkowe/)

Duration: approx. 75 minutes
Meeting place: MUZ Cinema, MNW Main Building
For whom: youth, adults, seniors
Rules of participation: free admission

Event availability: no architectural barriers, induction loop

[Detailed information on the availability of the National Museum in Warsaw can be found in the Museum available tab] (http://www.mnw.art.pl/wizyta/muzeum-dostepne/informacje-dla-osob-z-niepelnosprawnosciami/).

Mateusz Salwa — assistant professor, head of the Department of Aesthetics at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Warsaw; graduate of art history and philosophy. He specializes in contemporary aesthetics, is interested in, among others, issues of artistic representation, and currently focuses on the philosophical aspects of the idea of landscape. He has published, among others, Illusion in painting. An Attempt at Philosophical Interpretation (2010), The Aesthetics of the Garden. Between art and philosophy (2016), Landscape. Aesthetic Phenomenon (2021).

[We invite you to familiarize yourself with the full program accompanying the exhibition] (https://www.mnw.art.pl/edukacja/programy-do-wystaw-czasowych/adolph-menzel-18151905-niestrudzony-obserwator/)