Beach 1927

Tadeusz Makowski made this oil on cardboard work, “Beach,” at an unknown date. The scene shows a beach, probably somewhere on the northern coast of France, where Makowski spent much of his working life. Beaches were a popular subject for artists at this time, a reflection of the rise of leisure culture in Europe during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The painting is a loose and impressionistic work, with a focus on capturing the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere. Makowski was a Polish artist who moved to Paris in 1908, where he became associated with the Cubist movement. However, he developed his own distinctive style, one influenced by folk art and children's art. This work is an interesting example of how artists of this period were developing styles based on different and more diverse traditions of artmaking. To understand this painting better, we can look at how the popularity of beach holidays emerged in France and we might also examine the place of Polish artists in the Parisian art world.