Leon Wyczolkowski, Spring
Spring is more than a season; it’s a marker of time passing.
In this picture Spring is blowing in through the open window, an onrush of light and wind into the darker room. The curtains billow, the book’s page blows up – it looks as if someone was just sitting in the chair, has just moved away. The foliage of the tree outside gleams with the same light that falls on and outlines the chair. That light also falls on the windows and over the window sill and spills down the wall. The windows reflect the scene outside, bringing it inside.
The painting is of Spring seen through the window in the artist’s studio. The artist is Leon Wyczolkowski, a distinguished and prolific Polish artist, graphic artist, illustrator and teacher. He was someone who explored and was influenced by different techniques and styles as he developed his own. This painting was created toward the end of his life.
In it the techniques and knowledge he developed allow him to share with us a mature view of Spring. Here it is a light-filled, turbulent, restless season that speaks to the artist’s soul. In it we see the artist’s world opening up to nature’s winds and colours and changing light. And yet there is that empty chair. It speaks to me of both welcome and regret.
Welcome for the new season; regret for the passing of time, looking ahead to the time the artist will no longer sit in that chair and look out.
