Team of Four
A monster of a painting. Its gargantuan size will likely spur chills. Especially when the artist painted life-size figures of beasts that outmatch humans. Especially as they rush headlong towards us, the spectators. Driven by a Ukrainian peasant, a team of four gallops straight at the viewers. We feel the horses’ panting and huffing on our own cheeks. But the peasants aboard the wagon don’t share our sensation – they seem intoxicated and enraptured. They rush headlong, performing a death-defying stunt, undertaking a life-changing experience. Sociological research says men are most afraid of death and women fear life most. Such are their responses, at least. And yes, the men Chełmoński painted aren’t scared of life. Even if they are fearful, they’ve headed straight at what they’re scared stiff of.
