Rocky landscape with water 1911

Tadeusz Makowski's painting brings to mind a dreamscape, rendered with muted greens, browns, and grays, but punctuated by an area of turquoise water. I can almost feel Makowski standing there, brush in hand, wrestling with the scene before him. Did he start with the rocks, building up their forms with thick strokes, or did he lay in the water first, letting it guide the composition? The paint application is so direct, so honest. There’s a rawness to it that speaks of intuition and immediate response. Look at how he’s suggested the textures of the landscape – the rough surfaces of the rocks, the dense foliage, the smooth, reflective water. It's like a coded language. I imagine the kind of conversation Makowski must have been having with the likes of Cézanne or even early Picasso. They were all trying to find a new language for painting, one that wasn't just about representation but about feeling, about structure, about the very act of seeing. It's like they were all in this amazing, ongoing studio visit, sharing ideas across time and space.