Liberalism

Stanisław August was interested in urban culture and design. Under his reign, Warsaw developed profoundly, and city dwellers, for the first time, acquired a political identity and could make their mark. The so-called ‘black procession’ of the bourgeoisie and the Constitution of 3 May are the crowning jewels of this process. During the Kościuszko Uprising, the radicalised bourgeois made the heaviest demands and set up the faction of Polish Jacobins; they had members of the Targowica Confederation hanged and called for a constitution without a king.

Apart from plans and architectural designs, the Print Room contains a number of other documents that are related to the urban life of the era and the development of capitalism. A series of prints depicting ‘street callers’ shows merchants, who are the vendors of goods, culture and political ideas; focused on their message. The space where these figures function is the prototype for the contemporary free market; a place where various voices meet. From callers to Piotr S., we witness a constant movement within the public sphere, a constant calling to act as consumers or citizens.