Bajka zimowa 1904

Ferdynand Ruszczyc made this evocative painting of a winter landscape sometime around the turn of the last century, and the making of it feels really present in the final image. Look at the way he's laid down the paint, it's pretty thick in places. The textures give the impression of the softness of snow but also the brutal cold of the season. I love the negative space created by the dark, almost black, pool in the center – a focal point that draws you in. The stark contrast with the snow-laden trees is really powerful. The trees themselves are like ghostly figures, captured with these rapid, expressive brushstrokes. Ruszczyc reminds me of some of the later landscapes by Symbolist artist Edvard Munch. Both share a similar interest in expressing emotional states through landscapes.