Storks

There are not many works in the history of Polish painting as recognizable as Józef Chełmoński’s Storks. Completed in 1900, this canvas may even seem quintessential of the artist’s oeuvre. It reflects his fascination with the native Masovian landscape and rural people, living in harmony with nature. The man and child watch storks flying in a V formation, witnessing the eternal cycle of natural life, and forming part of it, just like the birds. At the same time, the ruggedly depicted peasant, with muddy feet and a weather-beaten face, seems to reinforce our idea of Chełmoński as an uncompromising realist.