The Gallery of Polish Painting and European Decorative Arts is situated in the 18th century northern wing of the Former Palace of Cracow Bishops in Kielce. The exhibition consists of extremely valuable works of painting and artisanal handicraft, presented in a simultaneous arrangement. As a result, the Kielce collection is among the most interesting in Poland. Visitors can admire a plethora of portraits, landscapes, genre paintings, still life works, vedute, battle scenes, allegoric or symbolic art by such prominent painters as Józef Szermentowski, Józef Brandt, Maurycy Gottlieb and Aleksander Gierymski. The pride of the gallery are its Polish Modernist paintings by prominent artists of that period: Olga Boznańska, Józef Pankiewicz, Jacek Malczewski and Stanisław Wyspiański.
In addition to paintings, the exhibition comprises outstanding works of artisanal handicraft. They include Oriental china dishes from the Dresden collection of Augustus II the Strong, products of the first European manufactory in Meissen and from the factories in Berlin, Vienna, Korets and Baranivka, as well as numerous exhibits of china from Ćmielów. The exhibition also features glassware from Czech, Silesian, German and Polish plants dating back to the Baroque period up to the interwar years. The handicraft gallery is complemented by furniture and clocks from the respective periods.
