Thistles 1906

Tadeusz Makowski made this painting, Thistles, with what looks like oil on canvas, but the exact date is unknown. Look at the way he's built up the scene in layers of brushstrokes – a real testament to the process of putting paint to canvas. The physicality of the medium is really apparent, like you can almost feel the texture of the paint just by looking at it. You see how the blues and greens merge and blend, creating depth but also this kind of dreamlike surface? Down in the lower centre, there’s this one dark, almost indigo patch, where the strokes seem to swirl together, pulling you into the thick of it all. It's like a little portal to the depths of the forest. Makowski reminds me a little of Klimt, in the way he uses color to create this immersive, almost decorative space. But where Klimt goes for gold and opulence, Makowski keeps it earthy, a little wild. It's all about feeling, about letting the painting breathe and evolve.