The painting shows a large gathering of figures during a festive celebration at Bielany near Kraków, beside the Camaldolese monastery. It is a sunny day. The composition is open, with numerous elements extending beyond the picture frame. The colour palette is muted, dominated by tones of green and brown.

In the foreground, at the centre of the composition, stand two figures: a woman and a man. The woman is on the left. She is of short stature and indeterminate age. She stands with her right side turned toward the viewer, showing only her right facial profile. Her hair is long and muted brown. Her cheeks and nose are faintly flushed. Her eyebrows are thick, reddish, and furrowed. Her light-coloured eyes gaze toward the viewer. Her nose is long and rounded, touching the upper lip. Her chin is long and protruding. Her lips are twisted into a grimace. She wears a light blue long-sleeved blouse decorated with irregular brown spots and a long brown skirt that conceals her legs and feet. In her right hand, hanging at her side, she holds a white handkerchief.

To her right stands a middle-aged man. He is slender and hunched. He faces the viewer and leans on a cane. His legs are bowed. His arms and right leg are hidden behind the woman’s body. He wears a black hat. His face is thin and yellowish in tone, with only part of the nose clearly rendered; the remaining facial features are suggested through faint patches of colour. He has a short, dark beard and is dressed in a brown suit with a white shirt.

In the middle ground, to the right, two children sit on the grass. To the right sits a girl facing the viewer. Her face is round, flushed, and smiling. Her brown hair is pinned up. She wears a long white dress that reaches the ground and covers her legs. Resting in her hands is a red flower. Around her neck is a necklace made of green leaves. A boy leans on her left shoulder. He is slightly behind her. His short, light hair is loosely rendered. His facial features are indistinct, with eyes possibly closed or half-shut. He wears a light purple long-sleeved shirt and dark trousers.

In the background, to the left, stands a tree. Only its narrow, bare trunk is visible; the rest extends beyond the frame. The trunk leans rightward. Resting against it is another child, sitting on the ground and facing the viewer. The child wears a white cap made of stiff pleated fabric, forming a halo-like shape around the head. The round face is flushed, with eyes, nose, and mouth roughly sketched in a few brushstrokes. The child wears a long purple dress with long sleeves and holds an open book on their lap.

To the right of the child stands a horse, turned with its left side toward the viewer. Its anatomy is simplified: the head is oversized in relation to the slender neck and thin, curved legs. The animal’s coat is light-coloured with reddish tones on the head, ears, and back. It is partially obscured by the foreground figures.

Behind the tree stands a man turned with his right side to the viewer, his face looking directly forward. He wears a tall black top hat, black vest, trousers, and brown shoes. In the background is a green wooden wall, likely part of a market stall. Behind the stall is a conical beige roof belonging to a carousel. To the right of the carousel, behind the green wall, are simplified figures riding the carousel.

In the far background, across the width of the painting, are crowds of people in multicoloured clothing of various ages. The figures are painted schematically. Further back are more carousels with red conical roofs and tree trunks scattered throughout.

Pentecost Festival at Bielany near Kraków is one of at least five works by Wojtkiewicz from between June 1905 and 1906 devoted to the theme of the folk fair. Today, only this painting and a preparatory drawing for the now-lost work Carousel—likely an earlier version—are known. The work depicts a popular festival once held at Bielany, attracting large crowds from Kraków. Carousels were a key part of these festivities and highly popular among attendees.

The foreground is occupied by caricatured figures: a stocky woman casting a wary glance at the viewer and her possibly blind companion. The perspective combines a bird’s-eye view of the Bielany panorama with a lower viewpoint focused on the man leaning against the tree and the children on the grass. The painting’s surreal quality is heightened by the densely packed composition, shifting perspectives, and the mysterious narrative suggested by the foreground figures. This is further reinforced by the subdued colour palette, punctuated by flashes of bright white and red. The painting reflects the artist’s growing interest in spectacle, masquerade, and the imagined world.

Source: Commentary by Dorota Chudzicka on the painting Pentecost Festival at Bielany near Kraków
Audiodescription: Emilia Szymańska
Consultation: Adrian Wyka
Expert Content Consultation: Irena Buchenfeld