material: oil on canvas
dimensions: 55 × 65 cm
description: The motif of water and the trees reflected in its surface was repeatedly used by Władysław Podkowiński as a pretext and a challenge to create a composition focusing on a masterful rendition of all the nuances of light and colour observed in a seemingly trivial landscape. This attempt at transplanting the accomplishments of French impressionism to Polish soil was caused by the artist’s stay in Paris with his friend, Józef Pankiewicz. Enthralled by the new technique used by their French colleagues, they wanted to work in a similar way. In the Landscape with a Haystack, the artist juxtaposes the flickering surface of the water rendered in cool colours with a row of trees growing on the bank and reflected in the water. Thanks to the use of various shades of green, yellow and brown mingled with white, the artist reconstructed the reflection of light flickering on the surface of the water. The effect is even more powerful thanks to the artist’s light and soft brushstrokes, known from the French painting technique. The haystack is the most intensively illuminated part of the composition. The expressiveness of this section of the painting is enhanced by the use of contrasting swathes of colour.
Urszula Kozakowska-Zaucha
exposition: The Gallery of 19th Century Polish Art in Sukiennice,
The Cloth Hall, 1, Main Market Square
key: Realism, polish impressionism, beginnings of symbolism >>>
dimensions: 55 × 65 cm
description: The motif of water and the trees reflected in its surface was repeatedly used by Władysław Podkowiński as a pretext and a challenge to create a composition focusing on a masterful rendition of all the nuances of light and colour observed in a seemingly trivial landscape. This attempt at transplanting the accomplishments of French impressionism to Polish soil was caused by the artist’s stay in Paris with his friend, Józef Pankiewicz. Enthralled by the new technique used by their French colleagues, they wanted to work in a similar way. In the Landscape with a Haystack, the artist juxtaposes the flickering surface of the water rendered in cool colours with a row of trees growing on the bank and reflected in the water. Thanks to the use of various shades of green, yellow and brown mingled with white, the artist reconstructed the reflection of light flickering on the surface of the water. The effect is even more powerful thanks to the artist’s light and soft brushstrokes, known from the French painting technique. The haystack is the most intensively illuminated part of the composition. The expressiveness of this section of the painting is enhanced by the use of contrasting swathes of colour.
Urszula Kozakowska-Zaucha
exposition: The Gallery of 19th Century Polish Art in Sukiennice,
The Cloth Hall, 1, Main Market Square
key: Realism, polish impressionism, beginnings of symbolism >>>