The turn of the 19th century was a golden age for Polish art. The publication features about 130 masterpieces of painting from this era between nineteenth-century decadence and a new beginning, and describes its roots in Polish history, culture and nature as well as the close connections with wider European art scenes.

Polish painting around 1900 carries us into a world of myths and legends, into dream-like landscapes, old traditions and customs, into the depths of the human soul. In a nation without its own state – until its independence in 1918 Poland was partitioned between Russia, Prussia and Austria-Hungary – a young generation of artists emerged to renew painting. Thus they created a common identity, while at the same time joining forces with the European avant-gardes.