Backyard in the sunshine 1932

Tadeusz Makowski painted this oil on canvas, Backyard in the Sunshine, capturing a scene where simplified buildings bask under an expressive sky. Here, a cross looms beside a stark, dark-roofed structure. From antiquity, the cross is more than just a Christian symbol; it is the intersection of celestial and earthly, a nexus of suffering and redemption, and a cosmic symbol found in various forms across many cultures. Similarly, the sun, represented by bursts of light, has been universally worshipped as a life-giver, a source of warmth and vitality. We observe the 'wheel' motif on the pink structure; its circular form evokes ancient sun discs, a symbol of wholeness and cyclical return, as seen in Celtic and early Aegean art. The circle, an archetype of totality, speaks to our collective unconscious, resonating with primal understandings of the cosmos. The visual emphasis on geometric forms - the triangular roof, circular wheel, and cruciform shape - creates a dreamlike space, where these shapes suggest a deeper, archetypal dialogue of human existence.