The 20th-century art history has formed a distorted image of the art of the 19th century, one that was acceptable for the contemporary taste fascinated by the formal achievements of the avant-gardes. We are continually surprised to discover how little we know about works that were created at that time and what the contemporary artists were interested in. The aim of the conference organised by the National Museum in Cracow and the Art History Institute of the Jagiellonian University in March 2007 was to show to the modern Europe, on the example of history painting, the scope of relationships and mutual connections that functioned there in the 19th century. (From PREFACE by Barbara Ciciora)