Malczewski's self-portraits establish an autonomous and extensive trend in his art. Painted in a realistic convention, Malczewski's self-portraits depict his own image surrounded by the characters from his compositions - Eloe; Ellenai; Muses; Medusas; fauns; chimeras; girls wearing folk clothes - in an illusive, almost touchable manner. These works develop an autotelic motif and rise the questions of art, art creation and power of the artistic vision (Autoportret z Muzą / Self-portrait with Muse, 1906; Moje modele / My Models, tryptyk/triptych, 1909; Autoportret z Tobiaszem i Parkami / Self-portrait with Tobias and the Moires, 1912; Pożegnanie z pracownią / Farewell to Studio, 1913). Music, the most abstract of all arts, becomes a metaphor for a process of art creation. It is depicted in a moment of playing the violin or peasant's fiddle, or pulling strings of a musical instrument (Mój koncert / My Concert, tryptyk/triptych, 1905). The autoironic tone resonates through the self-portraits, which confirm the artist's inability to liberate from the sense of a patriotic duty (Na jednej strunie / On One String, 1908), and through paintings commenting metaphorically on moral choices and sensual fascinations in the artist's life (Przebrzmiały ton / A Played Out Tune, 1909). (http://culture.pl/en/artist/jacek-malczewski)