Satires. A caricature of Malczewski, Wyczółkowski and Axentowicz based on a drawing by Jacek Malczewski 1906

Jacek Malczewski made this caricature of himself, Wyczółkowski, and Axentowicz. Here, Malczewski offers us a glimpse into the fin-de-siècle anxieties that plagued Polish artists at the turn of the century. The Symbolist movement, with its emphasis on personal and national identity, became a vessel for artists navigating a complex web of cultural and political forces. The three figures rendered as demonic satyrs reveal the tensions that artists experienced as they wrestled with representing both the beauty and the burden of Polish identity. Bound together by chains, the three figures appear trapped, almost as if they are burdened by their artistic endeavors. The choice of depicting himself and his colleagues as satyrs, mythical creatures associated with debauchery, suggests the complicated position of the artist. Malczewski uses the absurd and grotesque to confront us with uncomfortable truths about the artist's role in society, leaving us to ponder the weight of cultural expectations.