Julian Fałat (1853 Tuligłowy - 1929 Bystra), After the hunt - Polesie

oil, canvas, 105 × 135 cm
Signed p. d.: "J.Fałat/Polesie"

Exhibited:
- Julian Fałat (Jubilee Exhibition for the 10th Anniversary of the Regional Museum in Stalowa Wola), December 4 - February 7, 2010;
- Exhibition at the District Museum in Toruń: March 5-May 3, 2010;
- Exhibition at the Copper Museum in Legnica, May 7-July 4, 2010.
- District Museum in Bydgoszcz, 2017 - 2024 (deposit).
- District Museum in Suwałki (from 2024, currently on display)

An analogous, smaller work " Under the Forest" from 1910 (oil, cardboard, 71 × 101 cm) is in the collection of the Lviv Art Gallery.

"Fałat's paintings were so popular probably because hunting and gamekeeping were an important part of Polish noble culture. The artist's hunting compositions were also fascinated by Henryk Sienkiewicz, a bard of Sarmatism. Fałat was not interested in the type of hunting par force, so popular in Polish painting of the 19th century, but rather in the individual reactions of people and the tension accompanying them. Among his rich body of work, several thematic groups can be distinguished, which he repeatedly depicted: the hunting trip, the chase, the hunters' rest and the return from the hunt." (Anna Król, "Julian Fałat", Stalowa Wola 2010, pp. 54-55) The scene depicts the moment of rest after the hunt, in the Polesia - a land with strong ethnographic and cultural characteristics. In the foreground can be seen a group of men gathered around a campfire in front of a simple hunting hut. Conversation, relaxation and warmth of the fire contrast with the darkness and denseness of the Polesie forest. Setting the composition in the deep forest builds an aura of mystery and immersion in wild nature. The contrast to the dark color palette is provided by the warm reflections of fire. Fałat captures the atmosphere of the evening and the flickering of light among the trees with extraordinary skill, indicating his mastery of chiaroscuro and mood. "The list of outdoor motifs he reached for is quite large. It is the result not only of curiosity about the world and sensitivity to its qualities, Julian Fałat's fondness for traveling in the 'company' of a brush, a cartridge of paints and some painterly ground, but also an expression of a persistent desire to perpetuate the power" (I. Purzycka, Julian Fałat. Życiorys pędzlem zapisany, Bielsko-Biała 2017, p. 153). Analogous paintings depicting hunters after finished hunting include "Under the Forest" (ill. I) and "Resting after Hunting" (ill. II). "Hunting scenes have become one of the most important subjects of Julian Fałat's work. Individually interpreted, they aroused the admiration of the public and critics." (Anna Krol, "Julian Fałat", Stalowa Wola 2010, p. 54)