Julian Fałat (1853 Tuligłowy - 1929 Bystra), Bystra

watercolor, gouache, cardboard, 38.5 × 85 cm
signed and described. p. d.: jFałat Bystra
A characteristic motif in Julian Fałat's work was the depiction of a mountain river running among snowy stretches of fields, its current broken by numerous meanders. The subject was executed both in oil and watercolor, mostly framed in a panoramic composition, with a clearly outlined horizon, dividing the plan into two parts. Sometimes, to add variety to the composition, the artist enriched the painting layer of the work with silhouettes of birds in flight, or animal tracks on the snowy down. Moreover: "Fałat masterfully synthesizes the landscape, simplifies its forms. He zooms in and exaggerates the snow or the stream - placing it in the foreground, and omits irrelevant details. In the sunlight-saturated winter landscapes, he recreates the materiality of snow" - its fresh fluffiness or its weight during the thaw - with extraordinary skill. (A. Król, "Julian Fałat," Stalowa Wola 2010, p. 75 [cat. exhibition]). The earliest known work depicting a bend of a river according to the above-described iconographic canon is dated 1901.The so-called Fałat snows, including compositions with a river meandering through bends, enjoyed great popularity and recognition. Especially from Vienna and London came highly complimentary reviews. "Ludwig Hevesi, in his review of the exhibition of the Society of Polish Artists "Art", presented in Vienna, devoted much space to a discussion of the work of Julian Falat. Among other things, the critic was delighted by the artist's breadth and perfectionism in building up the representational layer of his winter compositions and placed them above the achievements of Norwegian painters, hitherto regarded as masters of this genre." (T. Dudek Bujarek, "Julian Fałat - a biography written with a brush," Bielsko-Biała 2017, p. 161). Works depicting river bends, along with works documenting scenes of hunting arranged in Nesvizh, are the artist's calling card and a representative and recognizing element in Fałat's oeuvre.