12 Tadeusz Makowski (1882 - 1932) "Wishings" , 1929 watercolor, ink, inK/paper, 21 x 16.5 cm (dimensions in passe-partout window) Signed by monogram and dated p.d.: 'TM on the back described: 'Chère Milette (' Dear Milette, I kiss you very cordially on the occasion of your Christmas, and I wish you the happiness of a flourishing, like this humble bouquet of heartiness from Tadka') ID: 179845 Taxes and fees - In addition to the hammer price, the successful bidder agrees to pay us a buyer's premium on the hammer prices of each lot sold. On all lots we charge 20 % of the hammer price. Provenance private collection, Warsaw Opinions oral opinion of Elżbieta Zawistowska More information At the end of the 1920s, Tadeusz Makowski found a painting language that allowed him to give his own shape to a long-growing imagination. After years of searching in Paris, his paintings were populated by figures resembling wooden puppets. Their simplified silhouettes may have brought to mind folk toys, but seeming naivety covered conscious work on the form. In August 1929, the artist wrote in his diary: "The paintings became more mine, more close to me. At the same time, judging the previous year as a decisive year, he noticed that the audience was increasingly moving the human element present in his painting. The second individual exhibition at the Berthe Weill Gallery in Paris, opened in November 1928, was an important confirmation of the chosen road. The show included fourteen images created during this year. The author of the catalogue, a friend of the painter's critic Louis Léon-Martin, accepted his change with enthusiasm. Sam Makowski mentioned the warm atmosphere of the opening, during which Polish and French colleagues were accompanied by Beethoven's music played from the turntable. Acknowledgment gave him confidence without weakening the need for further work. He still thought he could express his vision more fully. The year 1929 resulted in a deepening of these searches. During the summer, while in Breton's Thumiac-en-Arzon, the artist thought about the ever more daring transformation of the visible world. At that time, he admitted that nature itself was no longer satisfying him. He wanted to translate the observation into his own language of the image, to subdue her imagination. In autumn and winter, there were masquerade scenes in which children's play sometimes took on a disturbing character. The long noses of masks were like bird's beaks, and sharp contrasts of light intensified the unusual performances. Next to them, the artist painted intimate family scenes, keeping warm everyday meetings. In this world, geometry was used to express feelings. A round head, a pointed cap and a stiff body formed a recognizable form using few means. However, the inconvenient gesture of such a figurine could speak of tenderness as thrillingly as the carefully studied movement of a living model. Makowski used the experience of Kubism, but gave them a personal sense, close to the simplicity of folk sculpture. His interest in the theatre had a long history. In Krakow he co-created puppets for the Green Balloon. Now painted children became little actors whose disguises allowed them to extract feelings hidden under the gravity of everyday behavior. The humor was adjoining, and the mask could reveal more than it could. The 1929 wishes show the bright side of this painting theater. The characters in the pointed head covers, with a colorful bouquet, are accompanied by the inscription "mes meilleurs vœux. A tender letter on the back, in which Makowski wishes the recipient of happiness blossoming like a modest bouquet, combines the distinctive world of his art with a personal gesture of warmth.