Alfred LENICA (1899–1977), Landscape I

watercolor, pencil, paper; 23 x 30 cm;
signed lower left: lenica

Provenance:
private collection, Poland

Condition:
paper loss beneath the painting

The work is distinguished by its exceptional color intensity. The saturated blue of the sky, the dark silhouettes of trees, the orange-brown fields, and the deep green are arranged in broad, clearly separated zones. In the center, a clear motif of buildings has been preserved, but the details are subordinated to the rhythm of the colored planes. The lower part of the composition, intersected by red, green, and dark accents, begins to function almost as an independent abstract structure. The painting clearly illustrates Lenica’s synthetic approach to landscape: reality serves as the starting point, but color, direction, and the tension between patches become the primary building blocks of the image.