Manor house

The print depicts a man at the entrance to a courtyard where a stately manor house stands. However, the pensive man does not cross the open gate - he stands contemplating, leaning his hand against the fence. The man is no longer young, which is evident from his thinning hair. Perhaps he has returned years later to his home, which exists only physically. He does not know what he will find in the abandoned building.

This work, sad in its expression, is about a return home that is not always happy. There is no one waiting for the man and no one running out to meet him. The large yard in front of the manor house is empty: there are no children running around, no animals, not even a dog that barks. There are bushes growing here and there.

The house depicted in the graphic is a typical Polish manor house. Over the years of evolution, it has lost its defensive features and has become mainly a place of residence. It has characteristic features: a high, broken roof, whitewashed walls and an entrance in the form of a four-column portico topped with a triangular tympanum. Apart from its residential and prestigious function, the manor house had a symbolic meaning. In the times of the Partitions of Poland it was a refuge of patriotic values and Polishness. People used to meet there to sing songs, cultivate traditions, keep family memorabilia. Often the manor was the centre of conspiracy during the national uprisings. Unfortunately, during the repressions after the Uprising many manors were confiscated, which contributed to their destruction.