Erna Rosenstein’s largest painting in the Zachęta Collection is Fountain — a cosmogonic depiction that reflects the artist’s fascination with the elements. She continued this theme, this time referring to the element of fire, in another painting from the Zachęta collection, Burning of the Witch. Both works were shown at the artist’s solo exhibition at Zachęta in 1967. The exhibition was designed by Tadeusz Kantor, who, inspired by the title, placed the Fountain on the floor in a black frame resembling a well or crater (the ochre shapes in the painting look like spreading lava).

The paintings of Rosenstein, who defied all canons and conventions, reflect her emotions and associations and capture the creative process. Her art stems from the avant-garde movement rooted in Symbolism, so her works from this period recall the painterly realisations in the spirit of Witkacy’s Pure Form or the canvases of Tadeusz Brzozowski and Jerzy Tchórzewski (members of the Krakow Group, like Rosenstein). Critics noted her affinity with Art Nouveau and the Young Poland movement, as well as her extraordinary sense of colour (the painting under discussion features a surprising combination of red with ochre, pink and blue). Erna Rosenstein’s highly personal and poetic works also fall within the broad boundaries of Surrealism.