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Palma de Mallorca, Castell de Bellver 21 May – 27 October 2026
When they set off for Majorca, the renowned Polish composer Fryderyk Chopin and the famous French writer George Sand expected that the few months they would spend on the island would mark a turning point in their lives. Reality confirmed these expectations, though probably not quite in the way they had anticipated.
The trip was meant to be a respite from Parisian life and the public’s interest in their private lives. The artists hoped for beautiful weather, an improvement in Chopin’s health and that of George Sand’s children, as well as a peaceful, simple life and the chance to explore an unknown island. At the same time—viewed from the perspective of a contemporary scholar—upon arriving at their destination, they found themselves in a world of animated Romantic tropes.
Majorca revealed nature to them in all its power and beauty: rugged mountains, inaccessible gorges, and a stormy sea. The encounter between man and the forces of nature—one of the key themes of Romanticism—became a tangible experience here. This vision was complemented by ruins and medieval architecture, present both in cities and in the hidden corners of the island, so important to the Romantic imagination. The journey itself, serving both as an escape from the familiar world and a journey into the self, stimulating creative power, fit into one of the major myths of the Romantic era: the exotic and distant expedition.
The temporary exhibition, presented in the Gothic castle of Castell de Bellver in Palma, brings all these themes together: the admiration for the beauty of Majorca, the artists’ struggles with everyday life, and the creation of Fryderyk Chopin’s outstanding works on the island.
In the first exhibition hall, titled Nature and Everyday Life, visitors can view three Majorcan landscapes by Antoni Ribas Oliver, on loan from the Museum of Majorca, as well as valuable everyday objects from the private collections of Can Vivot and Can Marquès. Two extraordinary objects deserve special attention—glass bells with floral compositions—which, symbolically, in the form of flowers made of shells, encapsulate a reflection on the natural world, its beauty and diversity, but also on transience.
The second room, titled Preludes, invites visitors into a space of deep reflection on Chopin’s Preludes—a cycle inextricably linked to his stay in Majorca. Thanks to the music filling the space, portraits of George Sand and Chopin, a series of twelve engravings by Robert Spies inspired by the Preludes, a moving painting by Józef Męcina-Krzesz, a cast of the composer’s hand, excerpts from George Sand’s text about her stay in Valldemossa, and the Gothic architecture of the castle chapel, viewers will be immersed in a multisensory experience. It will be a story about the creative process—its tensions, suffering, and joy—and about the relationship between art and everyday life, physicality and spirituality.
The exhibition’s design and the themes it explores invite visitors to step beyond the castle’s walls, encouraging them to discover traces of Fryderyk Chopin and George Sand in Palma itself, and to explore the architecture and landscape of the city and its surroundings. The exhibition is unique in nature—it is not only a presentation of magnificent works of art but also an invitation to a profound experience of music and beauty within a historical setting. It serves as an opportunity to reflect on the past, which we find in the present.
The exhibition is the latest exhibition and research project carried out by the Fryderyk Chopin Museum as part of a cooperation agreement on promoting Chopin’s heritage, concluded between the Fryderyk Chopin Institute and the City Council of Palma.
Details: https://muzeum.nifc.pl/en/muzeum/wystawy-czasowe/116_sztuka-wyrasta-z-codziennosci-george-sand-i-fryderyk-chopin-na-majorce/3/
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Curator of the Fryderyk Chopin Museum: Dr Seweryn Kuter
Directora General de Patrimoni i Interpretació de la Ciutat: Pilar Ribal Simó
Exhibition curators:
– Urszula Król, Dr Seweryn Kuter / Fryderyk Chopin Museum (NIFC)
– Dr Artur Szklener / music curator (NIFC)
Content collaboration: Konrad Tołłoczko, Mariola Wojtkiewicz
Organizational collaboration: Maribel Molina Cano, Mariola Wojtkiewicz, Konrad Tołłoczko, Jędrzej Mróz, Marek Kostawski, Diana Długosz-Jasińska, Marta Zaborowska, Agnieszka Rzeszotek
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Event venue
Castell De Bellver, VILETA, Spain, Palma De Mallorca
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