The newest cycle by Jan Kanty Pawluśkiewicz was created in 2013 – 2014. It is the product of the master’s fascination of poetry by Dante Alighieri and plastic continuation of his oratorio concert, written few years ago: “Stories of hell and heaven from Venezia”. Cracovian Lajkonyk is guiding us through Hell (“Laikonyk No 6”, „Laikonyk No 10”), Purgatory (“Dry Purgatorial Lajkonyk”, “ Head tipping Lajkonyk”) and Heaven (“Lajkonyk wiht a dark bird” , “Bloated Lajkonyk”). The painting’s background leaves hardly any doubts where the pilgrim is located. The hellish backgrounds are dark and dense, in the purgatory are greyish and heaven is light. Thanks to Jan Kanty Pawluskiewicz the Lajkonyks bound together poetry by Dante with a local folkloric carnivals, which take place every year during Corpus Christi.

Piotr Uznański