Pejzaz z cyprysami 

Ferdynand Ruszczyc's painting presents us with a landscape dominated by the symbolic presence of cypresses. These trees, with their dark, slender forms, have long been associated with mourning and remembrance, frequently planted in cemeteries. Consider how, in classical antiquity, the cypress was linked to the underworld and figures like Pluto. Yet, these symbols are not fixed; they evolve. Look at how Renaissance art sometimes used cypresses to evoke a sense of solemn beauty, a transition from the purely mournful. Here, they punctuate the landscape, their verticality creating a visual rhythm that both soothes and subtly unsettles. The emotional weight of the cypress as a marker of reflection taps into our collective memory, a shared understanding of mortality that transcends time. The artist subtly harnesses this, engaging us on a level that is both conscious and deeply buried within our psyche. The cyclical progression of symbols reminds us that meaning is never static but always in flux, shaped by history, culture, and our own subconscious minds.