Igor Mitoraj in Poland — Warsaw Collector
Mitoraj's Connection to Poland
Igor Mitoraj was born in Ostrów Wielkopolski in 1944 to a Polish mother and French father. Though he spent most of his working life in Italy and France, his connection to Poland remained deep — and Warsaw holds some of his most significant permanent installations.
Warsaw holds a special place in Mitoraj's biography. Although he spent most of his artistic life in Paris and Pietrasanta, he was born to a Polish mother and returned repeatedly to Poland throughout his career. The city recognised him with major public commissions — the bronze doors of the Jesuit Church of Our Lady of Grace in the Old Town (2009) remain one of the most visited Mitoraj works in Poland. The arrival of Tindaro at Plac Defilad in 2025, following its auction for PLN 6.89 million, confirmed Warsaw's growing status as the primary home of Mitoraj's monumental legacy in Poland.
Mitoraj Sculptures in Warsaw
- Tindaro Screpolato (1997) — Plac Defilad, between Teatr Dramatyczny and Palace of Culture. 407 cm monumental bronze, acquired at Polswiss Art auction in 2025 for PLN 6.89 million. Currently on public display on loan.
- Ikaro Alato (2004) — Centrum Olimpijskie, ul. Wybrzeże Gdyńskie 4, Żoliborz. A monumental bronze Icarus, armless and wingless, stands before the Polish Olympic Committee headquarters.
- Grande Toscano (2009) — ul. Bobrowiecka 6, Mokotów. A five-metre male torso, third and final cast worldwide (others in Paris La Défense and Milan). Unveiled personally by Mitoraj.
- Anielskie Drzwi (2009) — ul. Świętojańska 10, Stare Miasto. Four-metre bronze doors depicting the Annunciation, created for the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Grace.
- Lux in Tenebris (2009) — Skwer Hoovera. A temporary exhibition of 22 sculptures that drew tens of thousands of visitors to Warsaw.
Selling Mitoraj in Poland
Poland has a vibrant secondary market for Mitoraj's work. Desa Unicum in Warsaw regularly auctions his bronzes and works on paper, with strong results. As a Warsaw-based collector, I offer a simpler and more discreet alternative — direct purchase without auction house fees, public listings or long waiting periods.
Whether you are in Warsaw, Kraków, Gdańsk, Wrocław or anywhere in Poland — please get in touch. I travel to view works and handle all logistics.
Do You Own a Work by Mitoraj?
I buy directly from private owners — no middlemen, no auction fees, complete discretion.
Contact Me DirectlyMitoraj's Polish Biography
Igor Mitoraj was born Jerzy Makina on 26 March 1944 in Oederan, Germany — his Polish mother was a forced labourer, his French father a POW in the Foreign Legion. After the war he returned to Poland with his mother, spent his childhood in Grójec near Oświęcim, and studied at the Fine Arts High School in Bielsko-Biała before entering the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków in 1963. There he studied under Tadeusz Kantor — the visionary artist and theatre director who would become one of the defining figures of twentieth-century Polish culture. Kantor's influence — his emphasis on the material object, on the body as both real and theatrical presence, on art that confronts rather than decorates — runs through everything Mitoraj subsequently made.
He left Poland in 1968, moving to Paris to study at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. He never permanently returned, dividing his life between Paris and Pietrasanta, dying in Paris on 6 October 2014 and buried in Pietrasanta. Yet Poland never left his work. The surname Mitoraj — which his mother adopted from her second husband — translates in Polish as a concatenation of mit (myth) and raj (paradise): Myth-Paradise. An accidental biographical perfect fit for a sculptor who spent his career reimagining classical mythology.
Warsaw as a Collector's City for Mitoraj
Warsaw has become the most significant Polish market for Mitoraj's work. The 2025 Polswiss Art auction — in which Tindaro sold for PLN 6.89 million — demonstrated the depth of Polish collector interest at the highest level. DESA Unicum, Poland's leading auction house, regularly offers small and medium-format Mitoraj bronzes and achieves prices competitive with major European houses. Through Polpharma's cultural patronage programme, the third and final cast of Grande Toscano (2009) stands at ul. Bobrowiecka 6, Mokotów — unveiled personally by Mitoraj — making Warsaw the only city outside Paris and Milan to hold this work.
This website is operated by a private collector based in Warsaw who has been acquiring Mitoraj works directly for several years. Warsaw-based sellers benefit from the possibility of a personal meeting and local transaction — no shipping required for larger or more fragile works.
See also: Grande Toscano — Polpharma, Bobrowiecka 6 · Mitoraj in Kraków · Mitoraj in Poznań · All cities worldwide
Mitoraj Sculptures in Warsaw
Warsaw holds a special place in Mitoraj's relationship with Poland. The large Eros Bendato gifted to Kraków in 2005 renewed Polish public interest in the artist, and Warsaw followed with institutional acquisitions and exhibitions. The Polswiss Art auction house in Warsaw has become one of the most active secondary-market venues for Mitoraj in Central Europe, recording multiple seven-figure sales of monumental bronzes. In March 2025 a large Tindaro Screpolato sold there for €1.6 million. For collectors based in Poland, Warsaw's infrastructure — including specialist shippers familiar with oversized sculpture and appraisers accredited under Polish cultural-heritage law — offers a natural starting point for acquisitions.