Ancient Forest Idols on Polish Soil. Based on the Poem Ja jestem satyr [I am a Satyr] by Wacław Rolicz-Lieder and the Painting Hołd sztuce i muzie [Homage to Art and Muse] by Jacek Malczewski
Ancient Forest Idols on Polish Soil. Based on the Poem Ja jestem satyr [I am a Satyr] by Wacław Rolicz-Lieder and the Painting Hołd sztuce i muzie [Homage to Art and Muse] by Jacek Malczewski

Summary/Abstract: The works analysed in this paper – Wacław Rolicz-Lieder’s poem Ja jestem satyr [I am a Satyr](from the volume Nowe wiersze [New poems, 1903] and Jacek Malczewski’s painting Hołdsztuce i muzie [Homage to Art and Muse, 1910] – relate to the theme of art. They cover a subjectof key importance to the Young Poland movement, simultaneously using the motif of a forest idol(faun, satyr) fashionable at the turn of the 20th century. The difference between these two works isnot limited to the nature of artistic expression (poetic vision – the painter’s vision). In the poem byRolicz, it is narrowed to the individual (the individual’s experiences) – basically, it is the confessionof an individual finding satisfaction in the image of what is native. In the painting by Malczewski,the perspective seems wider and more universal. The former reveals what could be the source ofinspiration for an artist, while the latter presents what art can aspire to. Regardless of this directionof influence, both works contain the suggestion that art is conditioned by culture and that it has theright to bear the mark of “homeliness”.

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