Mountains

Henryk Waniek

  • type of object: painting
  • date: 1974
  • material/technique: oil on board
  • dimensions: 37 x 47 cm
  • inventory No.: M-462
  • image licensed under: CC BY-SA

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


Image published as part of the Operational Programme Digital Poland: Open Zachęta financed by European Funds

Other works by artist in the Zachęta collection

  • Zdjęcie pracy Visiting Anubis
    Visiting AnubisHenryk Waniek1984
  • Zdjęcie pracy Mountain Above, Fire Below
    Mountain Above, Fire BelowHenryk Waniek1987
  • Zdjęcie pracy Better Way, Worse Way
    Better Way, Worse WayHenryk Waniek1971

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    Self-PortraitKrystyna Jachniewicz1981
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