Jozef Pankiewicz was a Polish painter, educator, and graphic artist. He was the main representative of the Polish art society in Paris during the interwar period. He began his career as an illustrator in several Warsaw based magazines.

Pankiewicz was influenced by Impressionism during his first stay in Paris. Pankiewicz fixed his attention on landscape and portrait, to move his interest toward symbolistic compositions as well as nocturns in subsequent years. After many trips all over Europe, he focused on color and form matters remaining influenced by Japanese art as well as Cezanne and Renoir. His time in Spain during WWI saw Pankiewicz inspired by Fauvism. In his late years Pankiewicz polished his technique referring to the foundations of Postimpressionism.

Being active as a painter for over 50 years, he created an impressive number of outstanding landscapes, portraits, as well as still life paintings.

Józef Pankiewicz was a Polish painter who significantly influenced Polish painting at the beginning of the 20th century. He was known for promoting French culture among his students and was oriented towards modernity while cherishing classical ideals of art. Pankiewicz's work corresponded to various modern "isms," and he believed in the task of painting to imagine what the eyes see or could see. He fled to Madrid in 1914 due to the outbreak of World War I, where he transformed his work by using the creative methods of French avant-garde artists like Robert Delaunay. Pankiewicz's art was influenced by the old masters, particularly Venetian colorists of the 16th century, and he created works inspired by Tintoretto and Veronese.