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To reflect is to feel- how did Chełmoński manage to capture autumn so well?

“We garner this poor hour of ease,

Until love turn from us and die

Beneath the drear November trees.”

Ernest Dowson


Autumn, especially its latter months like November, are the time for us to tie loose threads and prepare for upcoming stoicity. With winter approaching we slow down, reflect and feel more- I believe it to be so, as when we transition from a busy lifestyle of past months to peacefulness of winter, in this small time interval, we have the most room to ponder and reflect. The issue is that modern society slowly loses that ability so those searching for comfort reach out to the past, with art being an often chosen medium. Some artists, like Józef Chełmoński, value simplicity of life during such time and prominently show it in their works.


Chełmoński, Józef. Portret Własny. Oil on canvas, 1902. National Museum in Warsaw
Chełmoński, Józef. Portret Własny. Oil on canvas, 1902. National Museum in Warsaw

Chełmoński was a traditional Polish artist born in 1849, a leading representative of realism in art and… quite a pumpkin spice queen. Many of his works presented melancholic, and full of subtle metaphors, autumn shots of rural human life - originality was the reason for his increasing popularity in the world which only considered the themes of artworks to be religion (Muzeum Narodowe w Poznaniu 00:13:15- 00:13:30).


At the young age of 18, he officially declared that he would follow the path of art and later learned under Wojciech Gerson. During his life, he was indeed categorised as a realism artist but the inspirations for his works were most often taken from literature of romantic poets, mainly Adam Mickiewicz (“Józef Chełmoński”). Chełmoński beautifully showcased the emptiness and void of late autumn in rural slices of life of“Jesień”, 1875, “Jesień”, 1897, “Dojeżdżacz”, 1907, “Końskie wywczasy”,1879 and paysages “Odlot Żurawi”, 1870 together with “Powitanie słońca. Żurawie”, 1910 (“Józef Chełmoński”). These art pieces undoubtedly prove Chełmoński’s understanding of autumn’s symbolism and feelings connected to it which I will show on two examples of both “Jesień” 1875 and 1897.


“Jesień”, 1875 and 1897


"Whoever wants to see what a diligently precise observer Mr. Chełmoński really is, let them look at his 'Jesień', 1975. What is that autumn wind doing to the smoke and the well pole, how it blows away the thin, crouched dog... ah! ... And how it shines in that cottage... ah!"

Bolesław Prus


Chełmoński, Józef. Jesień. Oil on canvas, 1875. Deposit of National Museum in Warsaw.
Chełmoński, Józef. Jesień. Oil on canvas, 1875. Deposit of National Museum in Warsaw.

Both artworks show autumn - the time of transition. However, for each the method of presentation is different - it is easily noticeable by the colour tones both artworks have. “Jesień”, from 1875, is presented through dark, melancholic and decadent lenses. Chełmoński’s love for painting nocturnal pieces often contributed to presenting many different motives through a very depressing style which could strongly affect the viewers that have never seen rural autumn before (“Jesienny Łyk sztuki”). 

The piece seen above shows a house located near meadows and bushes. Some artists critics like Henric Struve commented on this painting- "The painting (...) creates a profound impression. We no longer have before us a realistic imitation of nature, but rather a feeling spirit in all things, touched by the life of nature. This is not what real autumn looks like; this is only how the human heart feels it in moments of inner turmoil." (“Jesienny Łyk sztuki”). People that saw it like that scraped only the surface of the art piece’s real meaning. The visible smoke leaving the chimney and the dynamic position of the well’s bucket subtly allow one to notice the strong wind present during the cold, most probably November night. With the darkness embracing everything, as if forming a void of silent emptiness the wind’s voice leads the nocturnal performance.  Stanisław Witkiewicz, Chełmoński’s friend, commented on this painting saying- "... He wanted the wind in the painting to whistle through the stalks of withered sunflowers, make raindrops rattle against the windows, and rattle a bucket hanging from a crane" (“Jesienny Łyk sztuki”). With the wind biting all that breaths, damaging every branch, dogs swarming under the house to hide from the freezing cruelty and reality of autumn- exactly this implicitly tells us nature's true colours. The brown and gray undertones symbolise the decadence of life and dirt our seemingly bliss world presents. However, through the shutters some light escapes to reach the outside world. There is no human seen, but one can feel the presence of people in a heated house, among each other’s warmth ignorant of nature's reality which they only experience during the day. Chełmoński’s teacher, Gerson, once wrote- “There are no humans here, but they are clearly visible and felt beyond the windows, one feels both the bliss of shelter under a hospitable roof and the misery of the dogs snuggling at the doorstep”(“Jesienny Łyk sztuki”). Nature is therefore cruel, for some more than others, if you can combat it you will survive like humans did to now bathe in happiness on an ironic warmth of a November night.

This artwork allows one to view art not only with vision but other senses like imagination and intuition. A melancholic and decadent scene allows one to reflect on the reality of a cruel autumn of different species that seem more favoured than others. Despite no humans visible, we feel their presence, we feel the numbing cold wind stinging hopeless dogs and the cruelty of nature’s palms whose touch hurts more than creates.


Chełmoński, Józef. Jesień. Oil on canvas, 1897. National Museum in Poznań.
Chełmoński, Józef. Jesień. Oil on canvas, 1897. National Museum in Poznań.

In contrast, in “Jesień” from 1987 simplicity takes the lead. There are not many hidden meanings, just a golden autumn evening with two boys, most likely brothers, watching over a herd of cows peacefully munching on last fresh grass. The peacefulness of this scene is not only shown through a very simple composition, the warm undertones and very minimal even static movement but also by the setting sun whose quickly disappearing rays transfer heat to keep the boys warm until they finish their task. Albeit it, boys try to light a bonfire to warm up some more as late autumn (November) evenings are chilly- visible from the amount of clothes both boys wear. Chełmoński depicted the Polish countryside exactly how he saw it (“Chełmonski na jesień”), that is the reason for, despite no deep and poetic meaning hidden, this work emanating the raw reality of human life and the simplicity of rural Poland where everything seemed simple yet restful. Additionally, the scene takes the viewer back to childhood , evening games with friends, nostalgic talks about everything but sad and depressing subjects- the pureness of a child's mind. I mentioned earlier how late autumn is the time of passing, the transition between the last colour in human life to the stoicity of winter. The smoke rising from the bonfire may therefore be assumed as a symbol of such autumn’s characteristics (“Jesień”)- the fading smoke altogether with a fading golden sunset symbolise the passing of human life, especially the peaceful childhood where everything seemed warmer and more homely.

In this piece one does not need to search deeply for implicit messages, Chełmoński consciously creates a simple in case of both composition and interpretation artwork. The innocence of childhood and peacefulness of an autumn, golden, cold yet warmed by the last rays, bonfire of passing time and felt emotions let us freely reflect on human life, time and what we find blissful while anticipating.


Chełmoński had the ability to present the passing and reflective time of autumn in different ways- through a decadent, melancholic paysage where one has to feel the message the artist tries to convey- about the cruelness of nature. But also through a golden, warm and peaceful evening where childhood meets time and a striking realisation of it being only a short part of human life makes the viewer with some melancholy but also peace of heart appreciate those moments. I view this artist as a real master of creating an atmosphere of similar topics conveyed differently through the simplicity of a rural human life. There is something, I think, that speaks to us as humans in the art of Chełmoński whether it's the way of conveyance, the power of implicit knowledge or simply the beauty of his works which let us ponder and reflect.


Page design: Asya Chub

Bibliography

Photos:

  • Chełmoński, Józef. Jesień. Oil on canvas, 1875. Deposit of National Museum in Warsaw.

  • Chełmoński, Józef Jesień. Oil on canvas, 1897. National Museum in Poznań.

  • Chełmoński, Józef. Portret Własny. Oil on canvas, 1902. National Museum in Warsaw.



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