Jan Szancenbach was born in January 1928 in Cracow. In the years 1940-1942 he studied art at the school of artistic industry (Kunstgewerbeschule), tutored by professors: Józef Mehoffer, Ludwik Wodiczko, Stanisław Kamocki and others, until the school was closed by the Nazi occupants because of its conspiratory activities. For three years (1942-1945) he worked in the workshops of Rada Główna Opiekuńcza the Chief Protective Council). At the same time Szancenbach participated in the activities of self-education groups and took part in the meetings at Tadeusz Brzozowski's, who organized underground exhibitions, discussions on art topics, etc. There he came in contact with his somewhat elder colleagues: Adam Hoffman, Jerzy Nowosielski and Janina Kraupe-Świderska. After passing the entrance exams he was admitted directly into the second year of Akademia Sztuk Pięknych (the Academy of Fine Arts) in Cracow. At the academy he was taught by the following professors: Eugeniusz Eibisch, Wojciech Weiss, Zbigniew Pronaszko, Czesław Rzepiński, Ludwik Gardowski and Karol Frycz. In March 1948 he became an assistant to Professor Eibisch and Professor Gardowski, and in June 1948 obtained the certificate of graduation, which was the most that one could obtain in Akademia Sztuk Pięknych at that time. In 1952 Jan Szancenbach passed his MA. examination and earned the degree of the Master of Arts. While working in the academy since 1948, he passed through all the possible university degrees, from junior assistant to professor. Since 1972 he has been in charge of the easel painting studio at the Department of Painting at Akademia Sztuk Pięknych. In the years 1972-1978 and 1981-1984 Professor Szancenbach was the Dean of the Department of Painting, in the years 1978-1981 he was the Deputy Rector and then served two terms (1987-1993) as the Rector of Akademia Sztuk Pięknych in Cracow. For six years he was a member of Rada Wyższego Szkolnictwa Artystycznego (the Council of the Higher Artistic Education). For several years he engaged in the activities of ZPAP (the Union of Polish Artists and Designers) as the secretary and chairman of the union's Cracow division. In the years 1948-1996 he participated in more than 300 exhibitions in Poland and 70 abroad, in places such as: Prague, Sofia, Paris, Monte Carlo, Visby, Bologna, Vallauris, Bergen, Budapest, Helsinki, Tampere, Rowaniemi, Malmo, Calgary, Lyon, Bordeaux, Narvik, Athens, Karlskrona, Solvenberg, Karlshamn, Darmstadt, Moscow, Graz, Dresden, Stockholm, Naples, Ankara, Nuremberg, Tokyo, Nice, New York, Vienna, Freiburg, London, Berlin. Pictures by Professor Jan Szancenbach adorn museums and private collections on every continent.