Small garden 1922

Tadeusz Makowski made this small garden with oil paint, and it feels like he was really exploring the possibilities of just a few colours. Look at the texture, built up with short, soft brushstrokes that give the canvas an almost fuzzy surface. The paint isn’t thick, but it’s definitely present, creating a tactile quality that invites you to get close. The colours are muted, mostly off-whites, greens, and pinks, giving the garden a dreamy, soft-focus feel. It’s as if Makowski wasn’t trying to capture the exact look of the garden, but more its essence, the way it feels to be there. The way he’s handled the brush, leaving these small, visible strokes, feels related to the post-impressionists like Bonnard, who used a similar technique to create atmospheric, emotional landscapes. With an approach like this, painting becomes a way of feeling, a way of translating an experience into something tangible, yet open to interpretation.