Landscape with Figures

In his works Siemiradzki employed, for example, ancient motifs of genre character, set in sunny Italian scenery. Landscape areas of these compositions were painted based on plein-air studies. They were characterized by technical brilliance and a modern, for those days, far from academicism, matter-of-fact approach to nature, connected with an interest in the problem of sunlight. Landscape with Staffage depicts an Italian landscape from the artist’s time. A grove by the river, visible in the foreground, is enveloped in shadow. A stone bridge, featured in the middle of the composition, and a town, which stretches on a hill in the distance, are flooded with dazzling sunshine. A couple, taking a rest in the shade, serve only as a colourful, picturesque element, while it is the realistically rendered landscape that plays the main role in this picture. The contrasts of light and shadow as well as a light palette create a cheerful atmosphere of a summer day.