Ján Šándora was a painter, living and working for many year in the quiet retreat of the spa town of Trenčianske Teplice. He was born in 1912 in Trenčianska Teplá. The fate wasn’t very generous to him and he was affected by health problems from early childhood. However, the will to overcome one’s own limits and to persuade others about his own talent were stronger than his illness. Šándora’s first guide and advisor was Štefan Straka. Later Šándora continued his studies in Bratislava at the School of Applied Arts (class of professors Ľ. Fulla and M. Galanda). Later, he continued at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and finally, the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague under professor M. Švabinský. The academizing focus of professor Švabinský without any formal experiments and avant-garde creations was very convenient for Šándora, who preferred continuity with older stylistic expressions of European art with emphasis on the painter’s expression embedded in craftsmanship and skills (hence the author’s fondness in expressive modelling of colourful volumes with the massive rendering by palette knife). Šándora’s numerous study travels around the world were a source of prolific inspiration. All the more enchanted he was by the Slovak landscape after every of his returns. He explored the romantic and rough scenery of the Považie, Kysuce, Orava, Tatras, and Liptov regions. Šándora didn’t avoid painting themes with figural iconography, sill life paintings or strong self-portraits. He was specifically attracted by folklore themes form his native region. He instinctively felt the need to capture them on his canvas as a testimony for the future generations. Šándora died in May 1997. Bibliography: Katalóg výstavy J. Šandoru k 50. narodeninám. Okresné múzeum Trenčín. 1962. Medvecký, G.: Trenčín in umení. Merina Trenčín. 1968.