Zdzisław Beksiński - The Horror

So far there is not a country in the world that excites and depresses me more than Poland. The nation's geographical location, cultural heritage, poetic language, and its indelible history during modern wars all marked it as a unique complex of whims. Zdzisław Beksiński is a perfect symbol of the Polish morbidness that sucks me into its blood. Without formal artistic training, Beksiński experimented, first with sculpture, then photography, and finally shaped himself into the most influencial Polish painter in the second half of the 20th century. He called his own style either 'Baroque' or 'Gothic', drawing much of his inspiration from dreams and music.

The late 1960s to 1980s was the "fantastic period" that Beksiński is most famous for. He created very disturbing images, showing a surrealistic, post-apocalyptic environment with very detailed scenes of death, decay, landscapes filled with skeletons, deformed figures and deserts. These paintings were quite detailed, painted with his trademark precision. At the time, Beksiński claimed, "I wish to paint in such a manner as if I were photographing dreams".

Beksiński was murdered in 2005, leaving us hundreds of works and the iconic "Beksiński cross" (T shape) that became an important symbol in central European ideology.

http://www.beksinski.pl/