Zdzisław Beksiński was a Polish painter, photographer, and sculptor; specializing in the field of dystopian surrealism. He made his paintings and drawings in what he called either a Baroque or a Gothic manner. His creations were made mainly in two periods. The first period of work is generally considered to contain expressionistic colour, with a strong style of "utopian realism" and surreal architecture. The second period contained more abstract style, with the main features of formalism.

Beksiński was stabbed to death at his Warsaw apartment on February 21, 2005, by a 19-year-old acquaintance from Wołomin.