A Gathering of Storks

Władysław Malecki belonged to the most outstanding representatives of the Polish artistic colony in Munich. His work is dominated by landscapes, created either as independent compositions or combined with staffage. The Council of Storks is one of the artist’s best works. It depicts a dark landscape of forests and swamps. The sun shining on the horizon illuminates the surface of the water. A flock of graceful storks, harmoniously incorporated into the landscape stands between three massive willows. In line with the principles of ‘stimmung’ or scenes endowed with a special intimate atmosphere, the evening setting and a coherent palette of colours with a single dominant hue let the artist seamlessly combine all the elements of the composition. 19th century critics agreed that the landscape with storks was a Polish landscape. The birds, shown in their natural habitat, symbolize the constant laws of nature and the repetitive rhythm of changing seasons of the year.