In the Tatra valley

The sketch by Kazimieras Alchimavičius is done in his typical manner, using expressive brushstrokes and different shades of green and ochre to piece the picture together. The fragment of the mountains chosen for this particular piece of work reveals the character of the Tatra Mountains perfectly: a rocky, tall, heavily forested range crisscrossed with mountain streams gushing under timber bridges put there for the benefit of travelers and shepherds. The design of the picture is based on the contrast between the sunlit rocks and the dark trees, slanting lines. The painter conveys the spatial perspective masterfully: the eye of the observer is taken from the rocks and the spewing stream in the foreground and along the austere lines of the wooden bridge deeper into the picture, towards the dark belt of firs with the mountain ridge looming against the horizon behind them. The strip of the sky at the top of the picture is relatively narrow, with the turbulent border of the outline of the mountains framing it. That is probably why this picture of a sunny day carries an undertone of lurking menace and harshness (Text author dr. Rūta Janonienė).