A profound shift took place in pictorial art of the end of the XIX century with the appearance of modernism. The painter’s outlook, his thoughts, emotions, his perception of the truth became central and the desire to deliver something more than the objective reality shaped modernism’s philosophy. Actually, reality gets a new definition in the movement’s framework – real is what is painted on the canvas and not what you see around. The best pieces seem to be living their own life in their own universe, yet look very truthful to us. The most important date for the movement is probably 1863, the year of unveiling of ‘Salon of the Refused’, which displayed works of artists neglected by the official Paris Salon. At first it was created to mock at the queer modernists, but soon it became even more popular than any other exhibition and definitely not because of people’s desire to laugh. This short passage tells how the movement of modernist art appeared and stuck in the heads and hearts of artists and connoisseurs. Ever since that moment the new movements that praise the world of fantasy have been called modernism.