“This painting draws you into a haunting, dreamlike world where a spectral figure presides over a desolate landscape, inviting reflection on loss and the unseen. It's an early example of Polish Symbolism, with its evocative mood and unique soft focus.”
In Witold Pruszkowski's "All Souls' Day," a spectral figure, perhaps a mourning angel, hovers over a desolate landscape. The scene is imbued with a soft, almost hazy focus, giving it a dreamlike quality. The artist's distinctive color palette, characterized by muted tones and subtle shifts in light, evokes a profound sense of melancholy and otherworldliness. This painting is the first part of a triptych, suggesting a larger narrative at play, likely exploring themes of loss, memory, and the spiritual realm. Created in 1888, the work resonates with the Symbolist movement's interest in conveying abstract ideas and emotions through evocative imagery rather than direct representation. The ethereal presence and the somber atmosphere invite contemplation on the connection between life and the afterlife, a recurring motif in Pruszkowski's work inspired by Polish literature.
- Artist
- Witold Pruszkowski
- Date
- 1888
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Location
- National Museum in Warsaw
What to Notice
Five details hide in plain sight. Here’s where to look.

The translucent quality of the central figure, as if it's barely corporeal.
The subtle, almost glowing light emanating from behind the figure.
The barren trees and desolate ground, emphasizing the mournful mood.
The soft, blended brushstrokes that create a hazy, dreamlike effect.
1 more detail is waiting.
See all 5 in Art Whisper →Stand in front of it and listen
The full narration walks you through All Souls’ Day, part one of the triptych — the story behind it, the details most visitors miss, and why it matters. Free in the Art Whisper app.
Witold Pruszkowski
1846–1896 · PolandWitold Pruszkowski, a Polish Symbolist painter, masterfully blended national literature with ethereal commentary, particularly in his haunting 'March to Siberia'.
Further Works by Pruszkowski
Portrait of Włodzimierz de Rosenwerth Rużycki
1865 · National Museum in Warsaw
Portrait of Mrs Matlińska.
1871 · National Museum in Warsaw
Fern flower (On St. John's Night).
1875 · National Museum in Warsaw
Portrait of artist's sister.
1875 · National Museum in Warsaw
When the morning glows arise.
1876 · National Museum in Warsaw
Water nymphs.
1877 · National Museum in Warsaw
Artist’s son with a dog
1881 · National Museum in Warsaw
Suicide’s grave
1881 · National Museum in Warsaw
More works to explore
Beyond Pruszkowski: works from the same years.
Same era · 1870s–1900s
A Woman Walking in a Garden
Vincent van Gogh · 1887 · Frans Buffa & sons
Same era · 1870s–1900s
A Sunday on La Grande Jatte — 1884
Okada Saburosuke · 1884 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Madame Léon Clapisson
Léon-Victor Dupré · 1883 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Paris Street; Rainy Day
Kawabata Gyokushō · 1877 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Still Life with Crayfish
Mikhail Larionov · 1900 · Museum Ludwig
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Arlésiennes (Mistral)
Paul Gauguin · 1888 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Madame Cézanne (Hortense Fiquet, 1850–1922) in a Red Dress
Paul Cézanne · 1888 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Moulin de la Galette
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec · 1889 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Cows Drinking at a Pool
William Hart · 1886 · Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île
Claude Monet · 1886 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Street in Moret
Alfred Sisley · 1890 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1870s–1900s
Two Girls Reading in a Garden
Pierre-Auguste Renoir · 1890
