This horizontal work was created by attaching fragments of fabric—primarily a woolen wall hanging—to a canvas base. A makata is a type of decorative textile, usually rectangular in shape, meant to be hung vertically on an interior wall. The makata made by Bronisława Rychter-Janowska depicts a horse pulling a cart accompanied by a highlander walking beside it. The scene unfolds on a bright night with the Tatra Mountains in the background. The colour palette is subdued and cool-toned, dominated by shades of violet, navy, grey, light brown, and beige. The image is composed of large, flat colour areas. Most elements are rendered as single-colour patches with no added detail.

The horse and highlander appear in the foreground, in the lower right corner, walking along a white path that leads toward the mountains, curving from the lower right to the left, toward the centre of the composition. They are moving to the left. Their forms are relatively small, serving as complements to the surrounding landscape. The horse is entirely navy blue, its head and tail lowered. Its rear right leg is slightly lifted. It wears a violet harness attached to the cart. Only the front part of the brown cart is visible, as the rear wheels extend beyond the edge of the canvas. The highlander follows behind the horse, next to the cart, turned away from the viewer and leaning slightly forward. He wears a brown hat, a brown vest with black trim, a grey shirt, grey trousers, and short beige boots. He is lighting a pipe, visible through a small red-orange glow behind his hat.

Behind the horse and the man, a light cream-pink shadow stretches across the white path. In the background, violet fields give way to two white cottages in the left middle ground. Beyond them, horizontal bands of forest cover the landscape, extending the full width of the image. The forest strips shift in colour from dark navy to violet, orange, and grey. At the very back, the pale beige Tatra Mountains rise, their upper sections marked by grey patches of snow. The mountains form the largest element in the composition, spanning the entire width of the piece. The sky is deep navy, cloudless, and speckled with stars.

Bronisława Rychter-Janowska was the only female artist to exhibit her work with the Group of Five. She worked in landscape and portrait painting and also produced literary works. However, she gained the most recognition for her sentimental depictions of Polish noble manor houses.

The makaty designed and sewn by Rychter-Janowska from woolen cloth have a narrative quality. Each textile represents a chosen moment within a broader story, hinting at both what came before and what will follow. Through synthetic flat fields of colour, clearly visible fabric seams, and stitching outlining each form, the artist guides the viewer through the image. Her keen observational skills allowed her to give each scene a strong and compelling visual form.

Source: Text by Agnieszka Kwiatkowska on the work of Bronisława Rychter-Janowska
Audio description: Emilia Szymańska
Consultation: Adrian Wyka
Content consultation: Irena Buchenfeld