There are not many Polish artists who have made a name for themselves in the western art world. But since a few decades some Polish artists emerge in the established museums in western Europe and Malczewski is one of them. He was presented in a retropective exhibition at the Drents Museum in 2003 and for me it was the first time i heard of this Polish artis and saw some of his better works. He is considered to be a symbolist painter and he certainly is, but in my opnion he more is a realistic artist who paints and draws every day life and people from his surroundings but frames them in a symbolistic way.
There is hardly any symbolism in the foreground of his art and the people he depicts, but look at his paintings and you will discover that there is symbolism and symbolistic elements, everywhere and even at some moments complete symbolic scenes in the background. This is how good art has to be and this is certainly true for Malczewski’s art. To discover this Polish artist the Drents Museum catalogue is a perfect starting point.
The Drents Museum catalogue is now available at www.ftn-books.com
