Maciuś without a hat

The drawing is a bust of King Maciuś the First without a crown - an element of the polyptych, the representation is completed by drawings of crowns incorporated into various headgear (see objects with subsequent reference numbers). These crowns symbolize various institutions and industries that are crucial for the functioning of the state. At the exhibition, this multi-element work was used in the set design in such a way that visitors could turn the crown wheel and choose which Maciuś should have over their heads (this is visible in one of the shots of the film promoting the exhibition:

https://youtu.be/ CwP3gdP3s3g

as well as in one of the photos:

https://www.polin.pl/sites/default/files/pictures/w-polsce-krola-maciusia_zdjecia-z-wystawy_12.jpg)

In How hard to be a king the depiction of Maciuś' head and drawings of the crowns appear on the timetable pages.

For the curators of the exhibition, Anna Czerwińska and Tamara Sztyma, thanks to the stories at the exhibition, younger viewers were to feel, like the readers of the novel, in Maciuś's situation and become aware of the scale and complexity of the problems related to the functioning of the state. Then they moved on to the next part of the exhibition - the workshop space, where they could, while having fun, perform a few specific exercises related to making decisions important for citizens: children organized voting, recognized the local needs of the community, wondered how to spend limited funds, designed a park, dressed wearing clothes typical for various professions, etc.

The exhibition was subtitled 100th anniversary of regaining independence, because it was prepared for the celebration of the anniversary of the establishment of the Second Polish Republic. Its narrative (thanks to the film in the prologue and extensive texts surrounding the workshop space, intended for adult audiences; also thanks to the original exhibits from the period on display) raised: the historical issue of building a new state from 1918, the most important threads in the biography of Janusz Korczak (Hersz Henryk Goldszmit , 1878 or 1879–1942), as well as the relationship between the fictional state of Maciuś and Poland, where Korczak lived and whose problems he presented to readers in a processed way in his novel from 1923 (more about the exhibition: https://www.polin.pl/en/in-king-matts-poland).