Homage to art and the muse 1910

Jacek Malczewski seems to have made this ‘Homage to art and the muse’ with oils, and also a lot of humor. Look at the thick, juicy way he loads up the paint, especially in the rendering of the central figure, the muse. He's not trying to hide the brushstrokes, but rather reveling in the materiality of the medium. The texture is rich, almost sculptural, giving the painting a tactile quality. It’s a sensuous experience for the eye. Notice the feet of the muse, which seem to be almost floating in the middle of the picture plane. This area has a really compelling energy, they draw my eye immediately. Malczewski seems to be reminding us of the power of art to transport us to other realms, to blur the boundaries between the real and the imagined. Malczewski was a contemporary of Klimt, and like Klimt, his work is full of symbolism and a kind of dreamy, otherworldly quality. But there's also a down-to-earth quality to his painting, as if he's saying, "Yes, art is mystical and profound, but it's also about paint and brushes and the sheer joy of making."