The exhibition reveals the evolution of the myth of the 16th-century Queen Barbara Radziwiłł and the creative locale of design solutions in the creation of a romantic brand image of the country. The collection of contemporary design pieces echoes the love, splendour, luxury, secrets, sighs, tastes and smells of the Grand Duke of Lithuania, King Sigismund Augustus of Poland, and the Grand Duchess of Lithuania, Queen Barbara Radziwiłł of Poland. All of this is transformed into a symbolic code for Vilnius, the most romantic city in Europe. An important part of the identity of Vilnius and of Lithuania as a whole, where love always exists alongside power, struggle and politics.
“Thanks to Sophie de Choiseul-Gouffier, the story of Barbara Radziwiłł and Sigismund Augustus has become a part of our folklore, a shocking romantic myth of eternal love,” says the curator of the exhibition, artist and designer Julija Janus.”
