Polish dandies from Paris
Dandyism is a social and literary phenomenon that appears in the 19th century, imported from England. It finds its source in a very particular social and cultural context: a strong industrialization supported by numerous scientific and technical innovations, the domination of the industrial and capitalist bourgeoisie, the decline of aristocratic values in France and the parliamentary monarchy in England.
In a world of material success and individual achievement, the dandy aspires to create a new aristocracy, based on talent and personal merit and no longer on the privileges due to birth.
The dandy is a fascinating figure focusing on him a very rich and powerful imagination, whose echo is still felt today, because he is above all an individualist and a rebel. It is a distorting mirror, a response to a world where the appearance of things triumphs. It displays its colors, its elegance neat at all times of the day and night. The exhibition of the SHLP/BPP brings together singular lighting on the dandy, it crosses literary and artistic approaches in the broad sense opening to the spiritual dimension of dandysme. Among the Polish «Beauty Teachers» who are perfectly aware of their genius are: Frédéric Chopin, romantic composer (1810-1849); Juliusz Słowacki, romantic poet (1809-1849); Zygmunt Krasiński, romantic poet (1812-1859).