Lento sfumato 3 2020

Lech Jankowski made this painting, Lento sfumato 3, using oil on canvas. The word ‘sfumato’ refers to a hazy or softened transition between colors, a technique perfected during the Renaissance, and this work certainly has that quality, with its muted palette and subtle gradations of tone. However, the grittiness of the surface, and the vertical lines near the bottom of the composition, give the painting a very contemporary feel. The texture is achieved through the manual application of the oil paint, one layer at a time, in a kind of slow, meditative craft practice. This creates a tactile, almost sculptural quality. But there's a tension here. On the one hand, Jankowski is embracing traditional techniques. On the other, he's disrupting them with a rawness and simplicity that feels very much of our time. It suggests that the real beauty of art lies not just in its final appearance, but in the labor and the material's journey along the way.