Small garden 1922

Tadeusz Makowski’s 'Small Garden' is awash with muted, earthy tones, punctuated by dashes of red and pink which makes me think about the quiet act of observation involved in painting. I can imagine Makowski, maybe in his own garden, patiently layering thin washes of paint, building up the image bit by bit, responding to the forms and colours before him. This painting feels so intimate, like a personal dialogue between the artist and his subject. The gentle strokes seem to capture not just the appearance of the flowers, but something of their essence, their delicate vitality. Look at the way he handles the edges of the forms, blurring the boundaries between one element and another. It gives the painting a hazy, dreamlike quality, as if we’re seeing the garden through a veil of memory. Makowski is part of a long line of artists who find beauty in the everyday, transforming the mundane into something extraordinary. Painting allows us to see the world anew, inviting us to slow down, to observe, and to appreciate the simple beauty that surrounds us.