Adoration of the Madonna, middle section
73 × 59 cm
signed and dated l.d.: 'J Malczewski | 1910'.
Landscape with rowanberries, left part
oil, cardboard, 40 × 90 cm
signed and dated below: '1909 J Malczewski'.
Landscape with rowanberries, right part
oil, cardboard, 40 × 90 cm
signed p. d.: 'J Malczewski'; gift of Jadwiga Górska, 1968
inv. no. MP 1046-1048 MNW
Adoption period: 1 year
Biography
The triptych refers to Juliusz Słowacki's poem Beniowski (1841), although Jacek Malczewski departed from the work's content and created his own reality in it. The central part of the painting is occupied by a scene of adoration of the Virgin Mary with the Child, to whom the painter gave the figure of a peasant woman. The Madonna sits on a well-like elevation, around which are gathered: a wanderer in a military array, a harpy, two fauns and a muse leading Pegasus - characters familiar from Malczewski's work.
The wings of the triptych depict vast landscapes. Rowan trees, meadows, paths and fragments of the forest, as well as small female figures have been framed in synthetic and decorative forms. As a result of these treatments, the landscape lost its temporal dimension and became a lyrical space of memories or imagination, an inner landscape. By situating landscapes next to the scene of worship, Malczewski emphasized the spiritual aspect of nature and the inner coherence of the world.
Słowacki's poetry was an important source of inspiration for Malczewski from an early period of his work.
