From the Window. Leonard Koscianski, 7″x5″, tempera on panel, 2011.
From the Window is a very small painting in egg tempera on panel. This painting is based on a much larger oil on canvas. It depicts a golden fish leaping out of the water to catch a dragon fly. This painting was done from the imagination. It wasn’t “intend” to have a literal meaning, it is not an illustration. However, the golden fish has received attention for its symbolic associations. In Jungian literature, a golden fish can stand for the soul. Gold is the color of the eternal, and a pool is often seen as representing the subconscious. This is a surreal painting. It is a surreal reflection on suburban, waterfront living. The title of the work (“window”) refers to the figure looking out of the window, as well as to the picture plane itself. Though not deliberately intended, the person in the window bears a striking resemblance to the artists brother. The splash is influenced by Harold Edgerton’s famous historic photograph of the splash of a drop of milk.