The Temporary Exhibition “Animals of All Worlds” Opens Tomorrow at the Palace of the Commonwealth
Unicorns, butterflies, dragons, wolverines, sea monsters, elk, sharks and other creatures depicted in the earliest animal atlases, maps and some of the most beautiful zoological illustrations await visitors to the exhibition Animals of All Worlds at the Palace of the Commonwealth.
The exhibition presents works by Jan Jonston, Maria Sibylla Merian, Ulisse Aldrovandi, Conrad Gessner and other naturalists of the early modern period. The pages of the books on display will be turned regularly, allowing the exhibition to change and reveal different animals each time. Their diversity offers an insight into the extraordinary scope of the encyclopaedic zoology of centuries past.
Fantastical animals emerge from the pages of beautifully illustrated books, running, crawling, flying and swimming into the Palace's interiors in the form of sculptures by Dawid Korzeniewski, creating a distinct ecosystem in each exhibition space. There are the enormous bodies of sea monsters, giraffes, a rhinoceros and the legendary unicorn, as well as tiny, shimmering insects from Maria Sibylla Merian's illustrations, suspended in spaces transformed by Aleksandr Prowaliński's scenography and sophisticated lighting. Yet this interpretation is far removed from a traditional natural history museum, with preserved specimens displayed among oak furnishings in cabinets of curiosities. Instead, it offers a pure, striking vision that emphasises the imaginative dimension of the scholarly description of the animal world – and one that is certain to surprise visitors.
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Animals are both real and unreal. They abound in our language, associations and imagination. They inhabit worlds of stereotypes, fairy tales and folklore, myths, symbols and allegories, as well as unverified knowledge and speculation.
Early modern science explored all these worlds in search of animals. It was a time when "natural history" encompassed far more than the natural sciences as we understand them today. What mattered was not merely the description of an animal, its appearance, habitat or reproduction. Equally important were its symbolism, emblems, proverbs, the sounds it made, its significance in dreams and its presence in miracles and prophecies. Animals were thus immediately surrounded by the products of language and culture. They lived not only in nature but also within the contexts of human imagination and reasoning.
Early modern naturalists developed zoological knowledge through an erudite approach, searching for references to individual animals in every available source. What mattered was not what they had seen, but what they had read. In the mid-17th century, Jan Jonston, a physician and naturalist from Leszno, fulfilled the greatest ambition of early modern naturalists: to catalogue, name, describe and illustrate every living creature. The great artist, entomologist and botanist Maria Sibylla Merian, who grew up in a printing workshop where engravings for Jonston's Natural History were produced, demonstrated, however, that this ambition was impossible to fulfil. We continue to discover new species – both animals living today and those that became extinct millions of years ago. We also continue to invent animal characters and populate new worlds with them.
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On 5 November, the first day of the exhibition, visitors are also invited to join a curator-led tour with Dr Łukasz Kozak, offering an opportunity to explore the works on display, learn about historical perceptions of the animal world and discover the concept behind the exhibition.
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Curator: Dr Łukasz Kozak
Graphic design: Hanna Dudkowiak
Sculptures: Dawid Korzeniewski
3D models: Dawid Korzeniewski, Szymon Zwoliński
Relief sculpture Garden: Aleksandr Prowaliński, vacuum-metallised by Staniax
Exhibition design and lighting: Aleksandr Prowaliński
Assistant: Alexander Adamau
Animation: Joanna Nagel
Production: Artpath
The exhibition opens on 5 November 2026. Visitors are welcome daily, except Tuesdays and other days when the Palace is closed to visitors, from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm.
ADMISSION FREE
Palace of the Commonwealth
Plac Krasińskich 3/5
Warsaw