Antoni Rząsa (1919–1980) is certainly one of the most important figures in Polish post-war art. The artist, who comes from Futoma (a small village in the Rzeszów region), was permanently committed to Zakopane. In the collection of the Tatra Museum there are several sculptures by Antoni Rząsa. The Pietà of Earth comes to the fore amongst them. Rząsa claimed that by employing themes borrowed from the Christian tradition, he tells the stories of the contemporary man. He used to say that “life is already in the wood itself…”. Looking closely at the base on which Madonna is sitting, we can see the imprints of bird claws, paw tracks, a bird’s nest with eggs, the ribbon of a river or a tree trunk. All these elements are very small. One needs to be observant to notice them.
ID no.: S/1711/MT
Time and place of creation: 1974, Zakopane, Poland
Museum: The Dr. Tytus Chałubiński Tatra Museum in Zakopane
https://muzea.malopolska.pl/en/objects-list/1770
Digitalisation: RDW MIC, Virtual Małopolska project
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