האקדמיה לאומנויות יפות בפוליןHistory Traditions of art education in Warsaw date back to the reign of king Stanisław August Poniatowski and the Painting Studio at the Royal Castle, run by Marcello Bacciarelli. He became an honorary dean of the Department of Fine Arts created at Warsaw University in 1816 – the first academic art school in the Polish capital. Following the closing down of the University, the Department was replaced by a School of Fine Arts in 1844. And towards the end of the 19th century, Warsaw art education was continued by Wojciech Gerson’s Drawing Studio, which educated the most distinguished Polish artists of the turn of the centuries. Warsaw School of Fine Arts was created through a community effort, and opened in 1904. The Supervisory Board nominated its first director the painter Kazimierz Stabrowski. The history of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw traditionally dates back to the origins of that school (which is why it celebrated its 100th Anniversary in 2004). Among its professors were some eminent Polish artists: Konrad Krzyżanowski, Ferdynand Ruszczyc, Karol Tichy and Xawery Dunikowski. The academic school’s curriculum characteristically included also “applied art” alongside painting, sculpture and printmaking. The School became Academy of Fine Arts only in 1932. Its curriculum in the interwar period matched those of the most in