This painting depicts a country wedding and demonstrates all Wierusz-Kowalski’s skill in representing movement. A wedding party, divided amongst several carriages, are on their way to the church, or to the subsequent celebrations. The passengers in the carriages are happy and relaxed, which is unsurprising in view of the joyful occasion and the swift journey along the woodland road. Yet here Wierusz-Kowalski takes a standard genre motif and adds fabulously dramatic details. The wildly galloping horses radiate exceptional vitality, and the substance of the swirling dust above the ground appears to the viewer to be almost tangible. As a result of this temperament, paired with his rapid manner of painting and lucid colours, works by Wierusz-Kowalski are consistently judged to be sensational.
[Palais Dorotheum, Vienna - Oil on canvas, 79 x 107 cm]