Objects

Koncert (Concert)

Siemaszko, Olga (1911-2000)

Depiction of an orchestra composed of female Auschwitz prisoners painted with contoured white lines on a black background. The background in the upper part of the artwork (as well as on the left side) narrows and undulates, resembling smoke, also due to the surrounding grays and occasional browns. The scene is framed by a painted rectangular brown frame, of similar width at the top and sides, wider at the bottom.

This is one of the versions of the illustration to Maria Zarębińska-Broniewska's short story "Koncert”, chosen by the artist to be printed in her book "Ręka umarłej" (Hand of a Deceased). It takes up a whole page 89 and precedes the story.

"It was a strange orchestra," the piece reads. – It consisted of a dozen or so women, always dressed alike: in navy blue pleated skirts and white short-sleeved blouses or in navy blue dresses with white dots" (p. 90). Music played by women, among others, accompanies people from transports on their way to gas chambers. The motif of smoke particularly corresponds with a passage in the short story in which the protagonist-narrator observes "heavy, low-hanging smoke from the crematorium" (p. 95).

The outer edges of the work are largely irregular, especially at the corners of the painted frame, the traces of brush hairs are prominent. The artist did not have to take care of this part of the composition; its artistic processing was to be handled by the publisher's graphic designers.

At the time of its transfer to the POLIN Museum, the object did not have any horizontal or vertical markers on it (small, rectangular cards with intersecting lines near the centre – both vertical and horizontal – used to capture the vertical and horizontal orientation of the illustration). However, they were undoubtedly affixed in the past, as evidenced by the remaining traces of adhesive tape at the top and bottom of the artwork.

Przemysław Kaniecki

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Information about the object
Author / creator
Siemaszko, Olga (1911-2000)
Object type
painting
Time of creation / dating
20th century
Place of creation
Warszawa (mazovian province)
Technique
painter’s
painter’s
Material
canvas
ink
aquarel paint
Keywords
Copyright status
contact the Museum
Owner
POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
Identification number
MPOLIN-M1636
Localization
The object is not currently on display
The purchase of work for the POLIN Museum's collection was subsidized by funds from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage from the Fund for Promotion of Culture - a state purpose fund, program: National Collection of Contemporary Art.