The Polish Painter Who Understood Werewolves

Comments · 926

• JA

  @JAJKUCURIOSITY · 4 months ago (edited) · pinned

  Hey everyone<br> I did an email interview with Jakub Różalski, the artist behind these paintings, covering the symbolism, the stories behind the work, what inspired him, and the different interpretations you&apos;ve all raised in the comments. You can find the full interview in my most recent community post. <br>Huge thanks to Jakub for taking the time to share his thoughts so generously.<br><br>Be sure to drop your own interpretation, I love reading them!

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• BI

  @bigmoe9856 · 4 months ago

  These paintings play on the fear of getting caught out of position. You are not where you should be. So close to safety, but, too far for it to matter.

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• PH

  @PhilowenAster · 4 months ago

  I always figured that the, in &apos;Shepherd and his Faithful Dog&apos;, that the werewolf <b>is</b> the shepherd. Which is the real...horror of the image. The very person who was supposed to be the dog&apos;s partner and protector of the sheep has suddenly turned to their greatest threat.

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• JO

  @joebykaeby · 4 months ago

  The use of the werewolf&apos;s fur to make their appearance slightly blurry and etherial is brilliant. Not the only time I&apos;ve seen it done, but maybe the best examples.

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• NY

  @nyalan8385 · 4 months ago

  The thing that fascinates me the most about the werewolf is that it is both the wolf that snatches the sheep who wander too far from the flock and also the wolf in sheep’s clothing. It represents simultaneously the danger of straying too far from your village or community, and also the danger those in your community can pose to you

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• MI

  @miketesta2970 · 4 months ago

  Yeah the Shepherd and the Dog. I imagined always two things. #1 u see this painting trough the eyes of the Shepherd - frozen from fear and only his dog guarding him and the sheep from the werewolf. Or #2 the Werewolf is the Shepherd. He goes were he knows his place, the sounds, the smell in the air and so an encounter happens. Former Man with his dog best friend - now enemies and primal wilderness to the death of one of them.

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• GO

  @goodhunter9791 · 4 months ago

  The polish just get dark fantasy like no one else does

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• LO

  @LoganZirbel-uy2qp · 4 months ago

  And this is why I like werewolves as a monster. To me, they’re almost always underplayed bumbling unintelligent monsters or just a bigger wolf that can stand on two legs. <br><br>Not as a genuinely intelligent Apex predator just as smart and you or me capable of all of the same things a normal human can, but with the strength of a bear in the speed of a cheetah.

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• RE

  @RedPando69 · 4 months ago

  Now these are some proper werewolves!

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• SC

  @screenname6829 · 4 months ago

  as much as i can see the horror of the painting, i always feel the slightest hint of courage to it. The dog stands seemingly ready, against an enemy it has no hope of defeating. But in laying down its life the flock and the shepard (if he isnt the werewolf) may live. <br><br>Because these are the things we do for love 🐕<br><br>idk its just my takeaway since the dog seems more prepared to fight than flee since its back legs seem to almost look like it just stopped moving forward. <br>Like it had the audacity to assert its territory against this monster

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• KI

  @Kikilang60 · 4 months ago

  Imagine these paintings hanging in your home.

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• GR

  @grimm3287 · 4 months ago

  my first interpretation of Fireworks was that the standing man is looking at himself as the werewolf from a 3rd person perspective, and realising the horror of what he is and what he has done.<br>my reasoning being that both the werewolf and the standing man are in very similar stances, and the injured man is looking not at the werewolf, but the man standing before him.

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