About the project

The project involved desk research in twenty Polish museums, sixteen museums abroad as well as in selected private collections, galleries, libraries, and antique shops.  

The most important source of data spanning almost the entire period of Cieślewicz’s oeuvre was the artist’s surviving archive, which more than a decade after his death was donated to the Institut Mémoires de l’édition contemporaine (IMEC) in Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe near Caen, France. Two study visits to this professional institution specialising in archivism (2014, 2022) helped extend the catalogue with previously unknown works and projects. Of prime significance was moreover the commitment of Ms. Chantal Petit-Cieslewicz, who offered most of the photographic records, both the pictures illustrating the artist’s biography and images of many of the works currently held in private collections. 

Due to the vast number of works, the catalogue is divided into nine parts: 

posters
poster designs
photomontages, graphics, collages
advertisements and advertising projects
books, catalogues, publications
magazines
ephemera
sketches and projects
other projects

Themed sections are additionally designated in the above groups. They include the major projects, including commissioned ones. The two fields of activity often overlapped, and the online catalogue helps trace back the interfaces between the individual projects.

Alongside a list of works, the catalogue contains a biographical section and a detailed list of all solo and group exhibitions, as well as a list of awards. Thanks to the photographic records amassed over a long time, the catalogue is supplemented with pictures illustrating the artist’s biography and his participation in numerous exhibitions.

Equally important in the catalogue is an extensive bibliography, divided into the following types of texts: catalogues of solo shows, catalogues of collective exhibitions, magazines, and other publications (books, encyclopaedias and dictionaries, ephemera).

The project’s overarching objective is to offer a comprehensive overview of Roman Cieślewicz’s activity. He was not only an author of posters, even if he is best recognised for them. He would also design layouts of publications and as an independent artist used design as his métier. He never viewed the two fields as separate artistic activities; on the contrary, by allowing them to coexist, he profited from their fuelling each other. The creation of a comprehensive online platform in the form of a detailed catalogue of all of Roman Cieślewicz’s works will be a major impetus for research into the history of graphic design.

Project: Catalogue Raisone of Roman Cieślewicz / Work and Life – Phase II

Government Programme “Ochrona dziedzictwa kulturowego za granicą” (Protection of Cultural Heritage Abroad), funded by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage through the Culture Promotion Fund. The project was carried out from 2022 to 2024.