PĄGOWSKA AND HER ANIMALS

One of Teresa Pągowska's favorite painting motifs were dogs and cats. She loved animals and she devoted a large part of her work to them. Today, these works of the one of the most important contemporary artists reach the value of hundreds of thousands of zlotys.

On Teresa Pągowska's canvases, the animal world is full of expression. Such aesthetics were used to create images of domestic pets and wild predators. Sometimes they appeared on canvases together with people, in other cases they appeared alone: singly or in groups (or herds). Pągowska's animals, similarly to the human figures she depicts, are captured in a pose that is difficult to define. These images are a testimony of deep analysis and emotional experience. They are free from incomprehensible symbolism, and the stories presented in them are anecdotal, told in the language of a poetic shortcut. One such picture is "Stroll in Clouds with Smuga - Goodbye", dated 1959/1968. The title suggests that it is an image commemorating the memory of a walk with a beloved dog that passed away.

The artist painted her husband's, the famous graphic designer Henryk Tomaszewski's, cats and her beloved dachshunds with which she surrounded herself for many years. The animals in her paintings are unpretentious and kind. In a few accurate brush strokes, the painter reflected their character and personality, capturing a fleeting moment. At that time, very personal portraits of the artist's four-legged friends were created, reflecting the tenderness of the relationship between her and her pet. A portrait of a cat also appears in the painting "A propos crinoline" from 1993.

As the years passed, animals appeared more and more often in Teresa Pągowska's paintings. In the 1990s, they slowly began to displace the figures of men and women, as if they were a testimony to disenchantment with people. In addition to dogs and cats, she painted birds, rats, there was also a hippo, goat, cow, ocelot and others. In the last years of her life, Pągowska often painted portraits of Patek, her beloved dachshund dog who passed away in 2002. These emotional works were often a farewell to her beloved four-legged friend. After his death, the painter painted a series of portraits, sometimes with dramatic titles, such as the canvas "Pateczki, stay !!!" or "Wake up". As Joanna Stacewicz wrote:

"Encouraged by a similar, sensitive look, animals also appeared on the artist's canvases - another favorite reason for her paintings. Perfectly observed in their natural poses and behaviors, they systematically appeared in a series of real, and sometimes very touching stories. Sometimes animals were Pągowska's heroes. wild and dangerous, however, the most frequent guests of her paintings were domestic dogs and cats. Previously reduced to the role of displayed companions on seaside walks or silent witnesses of a female nude, with time they gained full autonomy. the most tender, most accurate portraits of frozen birds from behind the window, and even mice sneaking around the studio, suddenly appeared in Pągowska's paintings. and their extraordinary portraits as great actors in spectacular roles "

(Joanna Stacewicz, "Osobny teren pejzażu wewnętrznego. O Teresie Pągowskiej", "Aspiracje", zima 2008-2009, s. 60).