material: oil on canvas
dimensions: 75 × 62 cm
description: The place which provided Aleksander Gierymski with a wealth of subjects was the sixteenth-century villa of Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este, surrounded by Italian gardens, situated in Rome. Erected on the hill, the Renaissance palace overlooks the terraced garden decorated with numerous ponds and fountains, giving the residence a unique character. Gierymski portrayed one of the axes of the garden. The elongated composition highlights the depth of the landscape. A gravel avenue is overshadowed by dark-green cypresses. One of the fountains is spurting water in the background, and terrace stairs rise above it. Strong sunlight filters through the foliage of trees. The refined play of light and shadow contributes to the well captured fleeting mood of a sunny summer day. The artist subordinated the landscape motif to light and colour, which became the autonomous means of expression in this work. The view of closely observed, light-filled nature, devoid of staffage, is an excellent example of Italian landscape painting by Aleksander Gierymski, in which the analytical description and formal experiments accompany the faithfulness to the surrounding reality advocated by realism. Aleksandra Krypczyk
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: 75 × 62 cm
description: The place which provided Aleksander Gierymski with a wealth of subjects was the sixteenth-century villa of Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este, surrounded by Italian gardens, situated in Rome. Erected on the hill, the Renaissance palace overlooks the terraced garden decorated with numerous ponds and fountains, giving the residence a unique character. Gierymski portrayed one of the axes of the garden. The elongated composition highlights the depth of the landscape. A gravel avenue is overshadowed by dark-green cypresses. One of the fountains is spurting water in the background, and terrace stairs rise above it. Strong sunlight filters through the foliage of trees. The refined play of light and shadow contributes to the well captured fleeting mood of a sunny summer day. The artist subordinated the landscape motif to light and colour, which became the autonomous means of expression in this work. The view of closely observed, light-filled nature, devoid of staffage, is an excellent example of Italian landscape painting by Aleksander Gierymski, in which the analytical description and formal experiments accompany the faithfulness to the surrounding reality advocated by realism. Aleksandra Krypczyk
exposition: The Gallery of 19th Century Polish Art in Sukiennice,
The Cloth Hall, 1, Main Market Square
key: Realism, polish impressionism, beginnings of symbolism >>>