Auction of the painting "Przez błota"

AUCTION OF THE PAINTING "THROUGH THE MUD" AGRA-ART 18.10.2026

Photographs and text from the Agra-Art catalogue - Auction of Old Master Art, 18 October 2026, 7:00 pm https://www.agraart.pl/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2026-10-18_TRADYCJA.pdf

The starting price was not reached, but Janek Wiśniewski - co-author of our website - together with his lovely companion, and I had the opportunity to watch the auction and to talk with Dr Monika Bryl - an Agra-Art expert specialising in old master painting - about the current situation on the art market.

THROUGH THE MUD

oil on canvas, 44.3 × 53.8 cm; signed lower left: A/Wierusz-Kowalski

On the reverse, on the lower stretcher bar, a label with a number (blue crayon): 33; next to it a number (blue crayon): 4222
on the left stretcher bar a sticker with a number referring to the Italian canvas support: 10; in addition, an illegible inscription in blue crayon on the lower edge; next to it the stamp of a Munich artists' supplies shop: Schachinger & Hermann | [...] | Malerutensilien | München | Eisenmannstrasse.

PLN 580,000
estimate: PLN 600,000 – 700,000

Provenance:

– Galerie Wimmer & Co., Munich;
– Rudolph Lepke’s Kunst-Auctions-Haus, Berlin
– auction of 26 November 1929;
– private collection – Switzerland;
– private collection – Warsaw.

Reproduced in:

– Gemälde neuer Meister aus ausländischem Museumsbesitz. Sammlung Loeb-Goslin und andere Beiträge, Berlin, 26 November 1929, p. 16, ill. on unnumbered page;
– A reproduction from the above catalogue also appears in the card index of the Galerie Wimmer holdings (now in the Bibliothek der Bayerischen Staatsgemäldesammlungen in Munich), which contains illustrations of the goods intended for sale.

Alfred Wierusz-Kowalski, a representative of the Munich school of painting, was particularly fond of landscape subjects. In his canvases he showed small expanses of the eastern landscape, filling them with people travelling in horse-drawn carriages, with winter events, sometimes involving menacing wolves. In his paintings nature very often influences the mood of the scene and the way its protagonists are portrayed.

A particularly interesting example of this way of building a painted narrative is the canvas presented here, Through the Mud.

The composition rests mainly on two motifs. The clouded sky makes the light soft and diffused, which softens the contours and gives the whole scene a melancholy, reflective character. Such an atmosphere evokes the realistic, harsh climate of a difficult journey along muddy, boggy roads, characteristic of the landscape of the borderlands. It is a well-known device of Wierusz-Kowalski's, so highly valued and sought after in his painting. Snow, mist or mud are not merely elements of nature, but often means consciously used to build the atmosphere in which the artist places his protagonists.

The mud in our painting also has a purely painterly significance. The ground is rendered in a set of rich, warm colours – browns, greys, muted greens and ochres. This palette builds the impression of dampness and expanse characteristic of a landscape after rain. The artist exploits the contrast between the matt earth and the gleam of a puddle lit by the light. The water reflects the cloudy sky and the delicate light, thanks to which the landscape gains spaciousness, subtle variety and depth. In this seemingly uniform tonality one can discern fine nuances which, even on an overcast day, are able to create interesting effects of light.

Through the Mud is an example of Wierusz-Kowalski's mastery in building mood and telling stories by means of landscape. The road, although it demands patience from the travellers, becomes above all a space of shared experience. The driver and the sleigh visibly slow the pace of the journey, yet at the same time heighten the closeness and mutual care of the protagonists. It is precisely this family aspect of the scene that lends the painting particular warmth. A little girl with a white scarf on her head nestles tightly against the woman beside her, who holds her on her lap. The man sitting next to them looks attentively at the foal, which keeps close to the mare pulling the cart. These small details introduce motifs of care and bonds into the painting. The animals are not merely a means of transport, but an integral part of the depicted world. Their presence enlivens the composition and introduces an element of movement.

Through the Mud can therefore be seen as a calm, warm tale reminding us that beauty may also lie hidden in ordinary, imperfect moments.

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