Fairy tale

This is another illustration from the portfolio, which the artist titled at the bottom of the page. Even if it were not signed, we would have no doubt that it is an imaginary, unreal scene, relating to a fairy tale or a legend. In the mountain landscape among the steep rocks, the artist has placed two figures: a half-asleep girl in a white dress lying on the bank and a gloomy old man emerging from the rocks like a phantom. The girl seems real, while the man, with his long beard and clawed fingers, is a mysterious apparition.

The scenery does not contain distinctive elements that would make it possible to clearly define the place of action. The crown on the old man's head has the shape of a castle, but it is drawn in general, in the form of a sketch, without any features characteristic for a particular building.

There are currently over four hundred castles in Poland. Most of them have their own dark legends. Unhappy loves, betrayals, just or unjust punishments, murders, intrigues took place within castle walls. Tour guides assure you that many castles are haunted by ghosts, and local residents are said to have seen white or black ladies strolling through the corridors or courtyards.

Polish history was of great interest to Barwicki - a painter, poet and patriot. He explored the known and unknown stories, orally transmitted or written down in the form of legends and tales. They aroused universal curiosity and stimulated the imagination. They brought to life for a moment the stone walls and overgrown ruins where life once thrived.

Władysław Barwicki liked to illustrate legends and fairy tales. He is best known for his illustrations to Lublin legends, which were included in the author's volume Lublin in song and reproduced in the form of postcards published by the Adam Jarzyński Lithographic Institute in Lublin.