Mikhail Alexandrovich Vrubel (1856-1910) should not have become an artist at all. He received a law degree, there was no one in his family who was associated with painting. In this respect, his story is very reminiscent of life path. He was a preacher for a long time, but became an artist in order to convey the essence of Christianity to ordinary people. Vrubel, unlike Vincent, was not ill with the Bible. Immanuel Kant introduced him to painting.

Oh those German philosophers! How much they have done for Russian culture. Where are we without Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer? I am generally silent about Karl Marx. Those who were born in the Soviet Union absorbed his philosophy with their mother's milk. So, Vrubel had Kant. His artist read in a special way. In Kant's theory of aesthetics, the category of geniuses with their special mission - work in the sphere between nature and freedom - was recognized only in the field of art. Who doesn't feel like a genius at 24? The choice was obvious: of all the art forms, Mikhail Vrubel liked painting the most.

Vrubel was lucky. Despite the fact that the future artist entered the Academy only as a volunteer, he began to study in the workshop of the legendary Pavel Petrovich Chistyakov privately. Chistyakov, in fact, was a teacher of almost all the stars of Russian painting late XIX century. Among his pupils were Repin, Surikov, Polenov, Vasnetsov, Serov. All of them had absolutely different style, but they all unanimously called Chistyakov their only real teacher.

Vrubel studied with the best craftsmen, clashed with eminent colleagues (most often attacked Ilya Efimovich Repin). Once, during dinner, he threw Repin:

“And you, Ilya Efimovich, don’t even know how to draw!”

Chistyakov recommended Vrubel to Adrian Viktorovich Prakhov, who at that moment was engaged in the restoration of St. Cyril's Church in Kyiv. He needed an unknown and inexpensive master with an academic education. Vrubel fit perfectly. But only at first glance. The artist's works were clearly of an absolutely independent character. They did not contain a word about the restoration of monuments of the XII century.

Everything would be fine. The customer liked the work of the master, his fee was increased, he could become famous. Yes, he could, but in his life Vrubel never looked for simple ways. Love came into the life of the artist - the scourge and inspiration of sublime natures. It seems that there was nothing wrong with this, if the wife of his patron and employer, Emilia Lvovna Prakhova, had not become the object of the master's love. It was a complete failure. At first, the ardent lover was sent away from sin away to Italy, but this did not affect him in any way. Returning to Kyiv, Vrubel immediately announced that he intended to marry Emilia Lvovna, and he announced this not to her, but to her husband. The ending was predictable. Vrubel was forced to leave, and he also began to cut himself. That made it easier for him.

A new stage in the life of the artist began in Moscow. Here he met his main benefactor, philanthropist Savva Mamontov. Even before that, Vrubel had a crisis of faith, at the moment when he painted the painting "Prayer for the Chalice". In one of his letters to his sister, the master wrote:

“I draw and write with all the might of Christ, but meanwhile, probably because I’m far from my family, all religious rituals, including Christ’s Resurrection, are even annoying to me, so alien”

It is strange, but it was while working on the painting of Kyiv churches that the artist came to a topic that did not leave him until the end of his life. He found his "Demon".

"Demon" has become calling card artist. His defeat and his triumph. Many consider the series of canvases and sculptures to be a kind of illustration to the poem by Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov. But it is not so. The work of Lermontov is the root cause, but in the mind of Vrubel everything was transformed in a bizarre way.

The artist's demon is not the spirit of evil. He is the soul of nature itself and the master himself.

Vrubel has always had his own view of the world. He considered nature not just alive, but inhabited by spirits! These spirits are the real face of the world around us, its essence, but very few see them.

Thus, the story of the Demon turns into a completely different story than in Lermontov's poem. This is a story about the death of this world. There are three pictures in the series, like three stages of the plot. Thinking - "Demon sitting", battle - "Demon flying" and defeat - "Demon defeated".

It is symbolic that last picture in this trilogy was supposed to be the brightest. Vrubl is experimenting with phosphorus-based paints. He wants his picture to literally glow. The public will see it for the first time at the 1902 exhibition. But what will be the surprise of visitors when they see not only the canvas, but also the master finishing it. Mikhail Vrubel did not like the final result until the very last moment. The colors in the picture became brighter, but the Demon's gaze grew dim and took on an increasingly angry expression.

The demon was defeated, but defeated in the splendor of his triumph. The picture literally glowed. The pink crown on the hero's head blazed with bright fire, peacock feathers flickered and shimmered. But the artist did not calculate. The brightness of the colors was phenomenal, but they were short-lived. By the day the exhibition closed, they had already started to get dark. The picture is still effective. But this is only a pale shadow of what was before.

The “Defeated Demon” brought recognition to Vrubel, but the artist himself was no longer able to enjoy its fruits. Immediately after the exhibition, he got into mental asylum. There was a slight improvement after a year of treatment, but the loss of his only son finally broke the painter. He was less and less lucid, and by the end of 1906 he was completely blind.

But before that, already lying in the hospital, he created two more masterpieces. These are the Six-winged Seraphim and the Vision of the Prophet Ezekiel. Vrubel returned to Christianity again, but now his work frightened him. It seemed to the artist that religiosity and strict fasting would help him heal. Didn't help.

And in society, the fame of the painter grew. In 1905 he was made an academician of painting. Vrubel was not at a single meeting, but nevertheless appeared in the Academy with an honorary status.

On the day of his death, the artist got up from his bed and said to his servant, who took care of him in the hospital:

"Get ready, Nikolai, let's go to the Academy!"

And let's go. The next day, the coffin with the body of Vrubel was put up there.

Picture painted: 1890
Canvas, oil.
Size: 114 × 211 cm

Description of the painting by M. Vrubel “Seated Demon”

Artist: Mikhail Alexandrovich Vrubel
Name of the painting: "Seated Demon"
Picture painted: 1890
Canvas, oil.
Size: 114 × 211 cm

Pictures of one of the most famous, and at the world level, Russian artists - M. Vrubel, attract and fascinate. First of all, these are his Demons ... It is impossible to pass by them without looking into the eyes of these "bad guys". Probably, filmmakers copied from them the images of the most famous cynics, whose souls not every woman can warm, but everyone wants.

First of all, the history of the creation of the painting “Seated Demon” is interesting. Many associate it with M. Yu. Lermontov's poem "The Demon" and they are right. M. Vrubel drew about 30 illustrations for the anniversary edition of the poet's works, among which is the same Demon. Now this picture is in the Tretyakov Gallery, excites the thoughts of more than one generation of people.

Against the background of a crimson sky, a young man sits, looking into the distance. In his eyes - pain, sadness, torment, surprise, but not remorse. Once upon a time, he was expelled from paradise and wandered the earth. The mountains of the Caucasus, the places where he is now, surround the Demon with their silence. The wanderer is alone, and all his deeds, terrible and immoral, will forever remain with him - the Almighty does not allow him to forget about them, "and he would not take oblivion."

The first parallel that comes to mind to everyone who has ever seen the “Seated Demon” is the tragedy of Aeschylus “Chained Prometheus” - the young man depicted in the picture seems to be not free in own body and wants to get out of it, but he just doesn't know how.

The second association is the color of Vrubel's character's clothes. If you remember the paintings and icons that depicted God, Jesus and the Virgin Mary, then pay attention to the fact that blue colors predominate in their clothes or they are depicted against a blue sky. The Demon's robe, in the picture, is a rich blue color, which is also called the color of the "Moroccan night." Didn't Vrubel want to say something that Lermontov could not say, namely, that the Demon would still deserve forgiveness and return to heaven?

Another parallel is the posture of the character in the picture – he is sitting. At all times, it was in this position that the person who was depicted as thoughtful, sad and sad sat. Later, other artists began to use the "pose of a demon", because it conveys grief, all-encompassing and irresistible. His hands are closed “in the lock” - psychologists say that closed people or those who have something to hide behave this way. These limbs of the Demon are not raised, not resting on the sides, they are simply limply lowered - he is tired of wandering. The artist clearly prescribes developed muscles young man, his gaze, flowing black hair.

It is noteworthy that the very figure of the Demon and the color and shade of the evening sky are clearly drawn - from purple to purple, interspersed with a golden sun illuminating the horizon in the background. The rest of the composition of the picture has a certain dissonance - the strokes are rough and blurry, mosaic and flat.

The flowers depicted in the picture are somewhat similar to crystals, there is no life in them. Many critics say they are dead anemones.

If you look at the “Seated Demon” from a long distance, you get the feeling that this is not a painting, but a stained-glass window or panel. To achieve this effect, the artist worked with a palette knife, painstakingly cleaning it with a knife.

IN color scheme The paintings are dominated by dark tones. The sky is bloody in color, and only it has smooth transitions. All other boundaries are clear, concretized. A row of colors "black - red - blue" speaks of a certain danger, because the very word "demon" makes many people wary. Demons are considered merciless, and Vrubel's hero is depicted in light shades of pastel with accentuated dark lines, his clothes are of a rich shade - this is how the artist demonstrates the duality of the hero.

The golden sun, white shades of flowers, red sky, orange reflections of the sunset should set you in a positive mood, but they only exacerbate general impression. There is a feeling of some brute force that invaded fragile world nature.

The dimensions of the canvas on which the Demon is depicted are non-standard for that time - the picture is oblong, uncomfortable and cramped. Actually, this is one of artistic techniques Vrubel - everything should emphasize the external and internal constraint of the hero, and convey the same Lermontov's "neither day, nor night, neither darkness nor light."

It is amazing how strong the influence of Lermontov's work on M. Vrubel is. The poet's demon is not evil in its purest form, he is able to enjoy the beauty of the nature of the Caucasus and feel Tamara's grief, comfort her and demonically kill her with a kiss. Lermontov's hero is more of a rebel than a product of darkness and hell, seeking to destroy all life in its path. Vrubel said the same about his Demon. He, according to the painter, in vain is not distinguished from the devil and Satan, they do not delve into the origin of the name. The Greek synonym for the word "devil" is "horned", and "devil" means "slanderer". The inhabitants of Hellas called a demon a soul that rushes about in search of the meaning of life, unable to pacify the passions that boil in its soul. He does not find answers to his questions not on earth, not in heaven.

It is noteworthy that many of the critics of literature and art of the late 19th and early 20th centuries spoke about the "misunderstanding of Lermontov" by the artist. This was greatly facilitated by the deterioration of Vrubel's health and psyche. The latter gave rise to the legend of a man of art who sold his soul to Satan.

... After the opening of the exhibition dedicated to the anniversary of M. Lermontov's work, M. Vrubel closed himself in his studio and continued to work on paintings about demons. The painter claimed that the Demon changed not only under the strokes of his brush, but also appeared to him live. Well, the artist fought with a fallen and exiled angel, and it is not known who emerged victorious from this war.

Vrubel's work is mysterious and mystical. If you have not yet made sure of this, visit the Tretyakov Gallery or look at its demons, the images of which are full on the Web. One thing can be said without a doubt - the demons of Vrubel torment the souls of many artists of our time.

Painting "Demon Seated"

Painting "Demon Seated"

The painting "Demon sitting" — it is the result of a conjunction in a time continuum of half a century literary image, created by the great Russian poet Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov, with a visual image created by the no less brilliant Russian artist Mikhail Alexandrovich Vrubel. Can't imagine any other way literary character poet than the demon Vrubel. According to modern expression, the artist's canvas is the hallmark of the poem "Demon". Poem by M.Yu. Lermontov painted for ten years from 1829 to 1839, the work on the image of the demon by the artist lasted 12 years. Vrubel Mikhail Alexandrovich began to write “The Demon Seated” in 1890, and it saw the light in 1891, he painted the painting “The Demon Flying” in 1899, and finished the painting “Demon Defeated” in 1902. This shows that both great artists searched for a long time and found in this image of a fallen angel, the "spirit of exile" a picture of the universe full of contradictions, the struggle of evil and good and the feeling of the inevitable victory of good over evil. However, Vrubel’s demons sometimes cause doubts about this victory, this is noticeable in one of the artist’s main works “The Demon Seated”.

Description of the painting by Vrubel “Seated Demon”

“The sad Demon, the spirit of exile” is an image that immediately arises from the first lines of the poem when looking at the canvas by M.A. Vrubel. The powerful torso of a sitting demon, hugging his knees with broken fingers, crowns a face full of longing and universal sorrow. The face of the fallen angel is sad and his gaze is dreary, fixed on the fading day in the lower corner of the canvas, against the background of a heavy lead-purple sky: “Neither day, nor night, neither darkness nor light! ..” The mosaic of stone flowers surrounding it, makes you believe in his unearthly essence. A Blue colour capes on his knees emphasizes his divine origin: "Those days when he, a pure cherub, shone in the dwelling of light." But all this is in the past: "The long outcast wandered in the wilderness of the world without shelter." Vrubel's demon is the personification of the spirit of exile, he often emphasized this in his descriptions and conversations with friends and tried to convey this state of mind.

The size of the picture, specially narrowed by Vrubel, limits the space of the demon, imprisoning him in it, as if making him a prisoner of the Creator. Maybe that's why there is so much hopelessness and indifference to the world around him in his eyes. The sunset of the day in the corner of the canvas can be interpreted as the sunset of mankind, the victory of evil over good. And he did this, sadly, but indifferently looking at the death of earthly life: “And everything that he saw before him, he despised or hated.” This is one interpretation, but the canvas allows for many interpretations of the plot, and they are made by art critics and artists from many countries. Surprising is their diversity and lack of similar views on the picture.

The mysterious philosophical essence of this picture is not recognized by many of its researchers immediately, this image is so complex and multifaceted. It should be noted that the artist himself made changes to the image of the demon for a long time, even in the already exhibited canvas in art gallery. Researchers of the artist's work believe that the artist's fascination with the image of a demon and an attempt to show his unearthly essence, woven from contradictions, the hero's internal struggle between good and evil, led the artist to his mental disorder and illness. IN last years life, this theme became the main one in his work. The artist even admitted to relatives that the demon appeared to him live.

The history of the creation of the canvas

After moving from Kyiv to Moscow in 1890, the artist finds himself in an atmosphere of benevolent and interested attitude towards him of the Moscow world of artists and patrons. During this period, he became close to the artist Konstantin Korovin and the philanthropist Savva Mamontov. During the period (12 years) of his stay in Moscow, he created the most a large number of masterpieces of his work. The history of his demoniad began in Kyiv, where he created the first image of a demon, which he destroyed there. And this is not the first work that he destroyed in the throes of his work. He wrote to his wife that he destroyed 1000 sheets of drawings and sketches in search of the image of his hero.

In Moscow, on the occasion of the anniversary of M.Yu. Lermontov, a two-volume edition of the poet was being prepared. Vrubel was not widely known as an artist and designer of literary publications, but he received an order to illustrate the poem "The Demon". Since the artist had long before been fascinated by the image in Lermontov's poem, he made several sketches and sketches, which probably played a role in choosing him to illustrate the two-volume book.

Vrubel wrote 30 for the poem watercolor illustrations, among which is the "Seated Demon". From these illustrations, the artist later, ten years later, created three huge canvases, the first of which was "Seated Demon". In the art workshop of Savva Mamontov, the main image of the demoniad was painted. The canvases were exhibited in an art gallery and received negative criticism from artistic circles, which, however, notes Vrubel's artistic talent. The artist's painting technique was especially noted, the basis of which was clear large and even brush strokes. This manner of writing canvases allows us to attribute his work to the representatives of Art Nouveau and the symbolism of Russian painting. Later, during the life of the author, the paintings were acquired by the Tretyakov Gallery, where they are still located.

Vrubel "Seated Demon" - one of the best pictures artist and most known to the world art. It does not leave anyone indifferent, neither an inexperienced young spectator, nor a wise art critic, in everyone it excites the imagination and causes a storm of emotions, causes a desire to see in the depths of the image of the “fallen angel”, what the great and master of genius brushes. My advice, visit Tretyakov Gallery, go specifically to the painting by M. Vrubel "Seated Demon", stand by him for several minutes. You will discover an amazing unearthly world of the "spirit of exile", in which, perhaps, you will find answers to many earthly questions.

Category

Paintings Mikhail Vrubel, the first Russian symbolist artist of the late 19th century, is hard not to recognize: his creative style is so original that his works cannot be confused with others. Central image, to which he turned throughout almost his entire life, is the image of Lermontov's Demon. Even during his lifetime, there were many rumors about the artist - about, for example, that he sold his soul to the devil, and he revealed his true face to him. What he saw led to blindness and insanity, and the artist spent the last years of his life in a clinic for the mentally ill. What is true here, and what is fiction?

The image of the Demon really haunted the artist. He first turned to this topic in 1890, when he happened to work on illustrations for the anniversary edition of M. Lermontov's works. Some of the drawings never made it into the book - contemporaries were unable to appreciate the talent of the artist. He was accused of illiteracy and inability to draw, of misunderstanding Lermontov, and creative manner contemptuously called "genius". Only decades after Vrubel's death did art historians agree that this the best illustrations to Lermontov's poem, subtly conveying the very essence of the character.

Vrubel dedicated several paintings to the Demon, and all the characters have huge eyes full of melancholy. Seeing them, it is impossible to imagine Lermontov's Demon to others. Vrubel wrote: “The demon is not so much an evil spirit as suffering and mournful, but for all that, powerful and majestic.” This is how we see him in the painting "Demon (sitting)". hidden power and there is as much power in it as sorrow and doom.

In Vrubel's understanding, the Demon is neither a devil nor a devil, since "devil" in Greek simply means "horned", "devil" - "slanderer", and "demon" means "soul". This makes him very similar to Lermontov's interpretation: "It looked like a clear evening: neither day nor night - neither darkness nor light!"

"Demon (sitting)" - the most notable work Vrubel. However, besides her, there are several more canvases on the same topic. And they were written at a time when the artist began to overcome the disease. First signs mental disorder appeared at the time when Vrubel was working on The Demon Downcast, in 1902. And in 1903 a tragedy happened - his son died, which completely undermined the artist's mental health.

From then until his death in 1910, Vrubel lived in clinics, and in brief moments of enlightenment he created outstanding works, from which something otherworldly breathes. Perhaps this gave contemporaries reason to assert that the artist sold his soul to the devil and paid for it with his own health.

a friendship that ended with a severed ear

Mikhail Vrubel is one of the most significant Russian artists turn XIX-XX centuries. In his works, reminiscent of overflows precious stones, combined ghostly dreams, reality and folklore theme. Vrubel was an innovator who was ahead of his time in many ways. He was admired by the artists Valentin Serov and Konstantin Korovin, Ilya Repin. And at the same time, many contemporaries did not recognize the work of Vrubel, his paintings were often not accepted for exhibitions, many illustrations were not published, and critics in best case were passed over in silence. The artist wanted to create brilliant works and worked hard. Throughout almost his entire life, Mikhail Vrubel was haunted by the image of the Demon, which appeared in many of the artist's works. One of the very first images of the Demon was the painting "The Demon Seated", which is now kept in the Tretyakov Gallery.

Early pictorial representations of the Demon are unknown, as they were destroyed by the author himself. But, probably, Vrubel began to work on this image even during the execution of murals for the St. Cyril's Church in Kyiv, the restoration of which was led by Professor Adrian Prakhov. He was in 1984 and invited the artist, at that time a student of the Imperial Academy of Arts, to take on this order. In Kyiv, from 1884 to 1889, Vrubel completed the murals of the St. Cyril's Church, icons for the same church, developed sketches for the murals of St. Vladimir's Cathedral in Kyiv, of which only ornaments were made. He painted many portraits, made sketches, sketches, began to work on the theme of the Demon. This image for Vrubel was partly an expression inner world the artist himself, it allegorically reflects his negative experiences, failures, disappointments.

"Head of the Demon", 1890-1891

In 1889 Mikhail Vrubel came to Moscow. Since that time began one of the most fruitful periods in the work of the artist. He turned to new areas of creativity for himself: theatrical painting, majolica, created his own central works in the portrait genre, paintings of fabulous mystical sound. In 1890, Vrubel created the sculpture "The Head of the Demon", at about the same time - a drawing of the same name.

Vrubel's work was supported by entrepreneur and philanthropist Savva Mamontov. In his house in Moscow in 1890, the artist paints the painting "Seated Demon" (oil on canvas 114x211 cm). Vsevolod Savvich, the son of a philanthropist, recalled how hard Vrubel worked on this work, changing the composition, as a result of which the Demon's head began to go beyond the picture. The artist removed the canvas from the stretcher, stretched it again, increasing the free space in the upper part. It was this composition, in which the figure seemed to be bound by space, that clearly revealed Vrubel's intention. He created the image of a confused spirit, unable to escape. In terms of technique, the painting resembles stained-glass windows or panels; it seems to consist of crystalline facets. The artist achieved this effect with the help of flat strokes made with a palette knife.

The painting "Seated Demon" can be seen in the Tretyakov Gallery

Mikhail Alexandrovich wrote about the work on the painting at the end of May 1890: “For a month now I have been writing the Demon, that is, not exactly the monumental Demon, which I will write over time, but the demonic - half-naked, winged, young, sadly thoughtful figure sitting , hugging her knees, against the backdrop of the sunset and looking at a flowering meadow, from which branches stretch out to her, bending under the flowers.

To solve the background, the artist used photographs Caucasus mountains but nature becomes only a hint. The figure of the seated Demon - the compositional center - is close to the viewer, but his head is turned in profile, his gaze is directed into the distance, his posture is closed - the Demon is alien to the world around him. The expanse to which his gaze is directed remains unattainable. In his pose, the artist expresses his unwillingness to move, but rather his impossibility. Flowers-stones blooming around the Demon, a landscape with golden light in the background of the picture create an image of a ghostly beautiful, but unattainable world. The same idea is expressed in the color scheme of the canvas. Saturated bright shades of the landscape are a dissonance to the image of the Demon himself, reveal the contradiction between him and those around him, the tragedy of the captive spirit, which cannot be involved in the beauty of God's world.

The artist returned to the theme of the Demon again and again until his death, which indicates how significant this image was for him. In 1899, he creates the painting "Flying Demon". It is part of a series of illustrations for Mikhail Lermontav's poem "The Demon". The painting was not finished for an unknown reason.

"Flying Demon", 1899

In 1902, Vrubel turned to the image of the defeated Demon. It seemed all their creative, mental strength the artist has invested in this work. The death of the Demon seemed to break the author himself. Vrubel worked tirelessly on the painting. Even when the canvas was already at the exhibition of the World of Art association in St. Petersburg, he continued to rewrite the face of the Demon again and again, the background ...

Demon defeated, 1902

The image of the Demon constantly lived in the mind of the artist. The extreme strain of forces led to a nervous breakdown and illness. In 1902, after a severe attack, his wife, Opera singer Nadezhda Zabela-Vrubel took her husband to a dacha in the Ryazan province. As a result, the artist was assigned to the Serbsky clinic at Moscow University, where the diagnosis of "progressive paralysis due to syphilitic infection" was confirmed.

The artist's condition from April to August 1902 was so difficult that even his wife and sisters were not allowed to see him. By September, he became more calm. Artist Alexander Benois and Sergei Diaghilev decided to prove to the public the sanity of Vrubel and organized in November 1902 an exhibition of thirty-six of his works, including all three of the picturesque "Demons". This exhibition was a turning point in the attitude of critics and the public to the artist's legacy.

It seemed that after the treatment, sanity returned to Vrubel, but the family suffered a new misfortune. At the invitation of patron Vladimir von Meck, Vrubel went to his estate in the Kyiv province. But on the road I got sick of them with Hope three year old son Savva. On May 3, 1903, the child died in Kyiv. The artist could not endure the shock, his mental state worsened again. He was treated in Riga, then in Moscow. The artist again spent the first half of 1904 in Serbsky's clinic.

"Portrait of the artist's son", 1902

On November 28, 1905, the already terminally ill Vrubel was awarded the title of academician "for fame in the artistic field." In December, vision deteriorated sharply, but Vrubel continued to work. In Usoltsev's clinic, he creates a beautiful portrait of the poet Valery Bryusov and the painting "Vision of the Prophet Ezekiel." The artist was kept in the clinic almost exclusively at the expense of his wife, which was not an easy task, because a month of stay with Usoltsev cost 100-150 rubles, against nine in the university clinic with Serbsky.

At the end of February 1906, the artist lost his sight. This blow was no less terrible for him than the death of his only son and incurable disease. Doctors allowed Vrubel to leave for St. Petersburg, to be with his family, he no longer needed treatment. The artist died on April 1, 1910. At the funeral, the only speech was made by the poet Alexander Blok: “He left us his Demons, as spellcasters against purple evil, against the night. I can only tremble before what Vrubel and his ilk reveal to humanity once a century. The worlds that they saw, we do not see. The rebellion of the Demon is considered by many researchers of the artist's work to be a reflection of a difficult turning point at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, when political upheavals and changes were approaching.

8 interesting facts about Mikhail Vrubel

1. The future artist was born on March 5, 1856 in Omsk. His father Alexander Vrubel, a Pole (in Polish, the word "vrubel" means "sparrow"), an officer in the Russian army in the military legal department, came from landless nobles. The artist's mother, Anna Basargina, died when Vrubel was only three years old. Father in 1863 later married Elisabeth Wessel. Father often transferred to the service. The family lived in Astrakhan, St. Petersburg, Saratov, then in Odessa.

2. Mikhail Vrubel began to draw at the age of five, and at the age of seven he attended the drawing school of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists in St. Petersburg, then he studied at the gymnasium in Odessa. Since 1870, Vrubel began to paint portraits in oils, copied Aivazovsky, J. Dow. In 1870 and 1872 he attended the drawing school of the Society fine arts in Odessa.

3. In 1874, 18-year-old Vrubel, having graduated from the gymnasium with a gold medal and settled in St. Petersburg, on the advice of his father, entered the law faculty of the university. Having studied at the gymnasium Latin language, read in the original by Ovid, Horace. But Vrubel was more and more interested in artistic creativity. Already completing his studies at the university, Vrubel began attending evening classes at the Imperial Academy of Arts. He entered the Academy in the autumn of 1880, when he was 24 years old.

4. In the autumn of 1884, while working on the murals in the St. Cyril's Church, Mikhail Vrubel traveled to Italy on the advice of Professor Adrian Prakhov, and also to Western Europe. Later, the artist said: “There is somehow more equality, understanding. But I do not like one thing: they despise poverty there. This is unfair and wrong and not good. And in Russia there is kindness, and there is no mercantile stinginess.

5. When painting images of saints, as well as working on portraits, as a rule, Vrubel's eyes were painted last, completing the work and expressing its idea.

Fragment of the icon "The Virgin and Child" by Mikhail Vrubel for St. Cyril's Church in Kyiv (1884-1885)

6. The philanthropist Savva Mamontov commissioned Valentin Serov and Konstantin Korovin to develop a sketch of the mural "Walking of Christ on the Water" for the church at the secondary mechanical and technical school in Kostroma. The solution was not given to the artists. Then Vrubel, who was watching their work, immediately made the necessary sketch on a sheet of gray cardboard. Thus, one of famous works. However, Vrubel almost destroyed it. At the last moment, Korovin was able to persuade the artist not to cut the sketch, but to sell it to him.

7. Vrubel worked 10-14 hours a day, often from 8 am to 8 pm, taking only one hour break for lunch, but at the same time the artist reproached himself for laziness and frivolity. He said: “You have to draw for 10 years for 5 hours: only then you will understand, maybe. Draw every day – this is the premise of all art.”

"Pearl Shell", 1904

8. The year 1895 became extremely important for Vrubel. He designed performances for the Private Russian Opera and met Nadezhda Zabela, who became his wife. She possessed a lyric-coloratura soprano and captivated the artist with her voice and beauty. Vrubel made many costume designs for her. For example, the costume of Margarita, in almost the same attire, he depicted her in the panel “Faust and Margarita”. But Vrubel was especially worried about the image of Tamara in her performance in The Demon. Nadezhda Zabela inspired the artist to one of his most famous paintings, The Swan Princess, in 1900. Her image in theatrical costume became not a realistic portrait, but the embodiment of the artist's idea of ​​​​half-real, half-fabulous beauty, refined and mysterious.

"The Swan Princess", 1900

Three quotes by artist Konstantin Korovin about Vrubel

"Vrubel was a Slav clean water... a Pole, and in him was the sophistication of great Poland, a sophistication equal to France. He looks like a foreigner, but at heart a Slav, the son of an unjustly and painfully oppressed country, with a veil of high cult, dandy grace, precious frivolity, high impulses of loving feelings, music, arts, with a holiday and enthusiasm in his soul.

“Vrubel amazingly painted the ornament, never borrowing from anywhere, always his own. When he took paper, then, noting the size, holding a pencil, or a pen, or a brush somehow sideways in his hand, in different places of the paper he applied firmly lines, constantly connecting in different places, then a picture emerged. Serov and I were amazed by this.

“A huge envy of his real genius talent. He was viciously persecuted. His great talent was hounded and vilified and called dark forces misunderstanding to trample it, destroy it and not let it live.

The material uses data from the book "Mikhail Vrubel" by E. A. Skorobogacheva.