Norman landscape 1927

Tadeusz Makowski painted this Norman landscape, probably in the 1920s, with oil on canvas, using a limited range of earthy, muted colours. It feels like he’s building the image from a collection of very small marks or dashes, a process of layering and accumulation. Look at the surface closely, particularly the way he renders the sky: the paint is quite thin and transparent, but the density of marks creates a kind of blurry haze. Zooming in, I can see the canvas showing through, which adds to the sense of something dissolving or fading. The overall effect is of a dreamlike memory. The textures feel very tangible and physical, especially in contrast to the flat, almost cartoonish rendering of the figures, which seems influenced by folk art. To me, this recalls the landscapes of Chaim Soutine, who also used a similar technique of broken, fragmented marks to create a sense of movement and unrest. With Makowski, though, there’s a quiet stillness. It’s a simple scene, yet somehow very moving.