The painting expresses the artist’s interest in the region of Lower Silesia and the oeuvre of Caspar David Friedrich, combined with romantic landscapes. Waniek’s travels to Lower Silesian towns, which he described as ‘capitals of duchies and the watchtowers of their own forgotten mysteries’, abounded in experiences incomparable with those of, for example, Mazovia. The painting featuring a depiction of monumental architecture (most likely a town hall), as well as the painter’s other works, hides a secret. The fragment of the town, devoid of people, painted with realistic precision and attention to detail, gives the impression of a sleepy dream, a peculiar stage setting for events undefined in time. The key compositional and semantic elements here are three enigmatic objects, that seem to contradict the functionality of the place. A banner waves on the roof of the building, a rope blocks the road to the main entrance, and a red glass sphere on a pedestal commemorates an event or a person.

 Michał Jachuła

translated by Paulina Bożek