150 Years of Polish Painting by Maria Anna Potocka is a richly illustrated collection of nearly fifty essays on the most distinguished Polish artists since the second half of the 19th century until the modern times. Each of the texts sets out to finding the essence of the painter’s art — from presenting the biographical background, to the artist’s psychological analysis, to the summary of the artistic output. The texts also include interpretations of selected works of art, which often go beyond the obvious message of the painting. As the author remarks: “The ultimate sense of art rests in the creator. The works are only traces that lead us to the source.” Maria Anna Potocka gives the readers an insightful and very subjective view of the artistic output of numerous Polish painters, such as Jan Matejko, Jacek Malczewski, Tadeusz Kantor, Wojciech Fangor, Edward Dwurnik and Leon Tarasewicz, claiming that personal relations to someone’s art and discovering it are a simple way for every viewer to turn into a kind of an artist.