Landscape ‘May’ [oil on canvas, 62 x 99 cm, signed lower right: S. Zhukovsky (written in Cyrillic in Russian), I.I. Brodsky Art Museum in Berdiansk, inv. no. Ż-86, Berdiansk, Ukraine]
The landscape ‘May (Ruczaj)’ was painted in a style reminiscent of Russian Art Nouveau. It contains a strong element of contemplation and meditation, felt by the artist himself and conveyed at the moment of his direct contact with nature. A vast landscape stretches out before the viewer’s eyes. The space opens up gradually into the depth, with planes running parallel to the picture plane. The composition as a whole tends towards balance. Beneath a light-blue sky lies a valley flooded by the spring waters of a lake. Wooden houses can be seen in the distant background. Their walls are painted in dark brown with shades of ochre. A small group of trees on the left, not yet covered in leaves, serves as the anchor for the entire composition and has been painted with exceptional refinement. The green valley is filled with the spirit of spring. The colour palette features a wide range of shades, from verdigris green to indigo, and from light purple to deep purple in the shadows. It is difficult to identify a focal point in this composition. It is dominated by calm, cool, colourful planes filled with air and an inner balance. The artist has succeeded in capturing the sacred essence of springtime nature, when life is born in the water, on the earth and in the heavens. This metaphorical interpretation of the spring landscape is further emphasised by the mirror-like surface of the water, in which the majestically high sky is reflected. A natural mirror – the lake – appears in the landscape as a symbolic space. Żukowski has spread across the water’s surface matte layers of colourful motifs reflected within it. The water is calm and shimmers in shades of emerald. Surrounding the deep green is a blend of other colours – blues, purples, light greens and aquamarines with a touch of yellow.
In this landscape – as in the works discussed above – Stanisław Żukowski has succeeded in conveying the invisible yet perceptible and ever-present processes of new life emerging in springtime nature.
The lyrical intimacy of the landscape, with its clearly defined artistic foundation, features the distinctive colour palette of Russian Art Nouveau painting. The emotional side of the creative process is open and revealed, and in this case the depth of feeling comes to the fore.