Glass Painting in Contemporary Podhale

Abstract

It is now hard to imagine Podhale or its artistic centre – Zakopane, without all the glass paintings decorat-ing its restaurants, galleries and places of religious worship. This type of art was revitalized in the 1950s by a group of scholars enamoured with highlander culture and later supported by institutions dealing with protecting and promoting so-called ‘modern folk art’ in post-war Poland. Today glass painting belongs to the artistic landmarks of Podhale, making it the largest centre of vitrochromy in Europe. Its continuing presence in the region is regarded by the public as an evidence of the vitality of highlander tradition in Podhale. Folklore scenes painted on glass, especially the highly popular images of brigands, are purchased by tourists and act as symbols of the fascinating and exotic highlander culture. Regional activists perceive glass painting as a permanent and valuable element of their native heritage, which ought to be protected and included into the curriculum of regional education. The mimetic character of this genre provides the medium for presenting an imaginary picture of the highlander, giving artists and recipients a tool for creating a kind of a stereotypical self-portrait. The associations glass painting evokes (old, permanent,unchanging) clearly point to its mythical significance and incorporate it into the broader trend of invented traditions – a phenomenon which has recently entered a stage of dynamic development in Podhale.