EN
The paper aims at shedding some new light on Pantaleon Szyndler’s painting Bathing Girl displayed for 120 years at the Gallery of Polish 19 th -Century Art at Kraków’s Cloth Hall. The year 1880 has been pointed to as its creation date. The history of the painting, displayed subsequently in Paris, Kraków, St. Petersburg, and Berlin has been reconstructed. Moreover, successive transformations of the composition carried out by the painter have been pointed to. This is followed by the opinions of 19 th -century art critics on Szyndler’s work. Bathing Girl and other Szyndler’s works on Oriental topics are presented in the context of Orientalism in European painting of the 19 th century. A broader approach was used when the question of the influence of the Old Masters, particularly the works by Rembrandt and the 16 th -cenutry Venetian School was tackled. The Author also aimed at demonstrating that Szyndler’s friend and master Cyprian Kamil Norwid could have inspired the painter with such fascinations.