17.03.1856 – 14.04.1910

At the end of the XIX century, the artistic culture of Russia experienced a period of formation of a new style, which in Russia was called “modern”. The language of painting in this style acquired pronounced decorative features, a solid linear-structural basis. Ancestor, one of the brightest representatives of this style in Russia can be considered Mikhail Vrubel.

The future artist was born in Omsk, in the family of military lawyer Alexander Vrubel. Father wanted a reliable and prosperous future for his son, so Mikhail entered the law faculty of St. Petersburg University. However, the craving for art was so strong that Mikhail Vrubel began to attend the evening class of Pavel Chistyakov at the Academy of Arts.

Vrubel’s picturesque manner is easily recognizable – it’s a kind of crystal pattern shimmering with lilac-purple tones. This special style was formed in the Kiev years, when Mikhail Vrubel was invited to restore the Church of St. Cyril. Following this monumental experience, the second one was to follow, and the construction of the Vladimir Cathedral was over in Kiev, and the artist began working on the sketches of the paintings, but they turned out so unusual that the customers refused to cooperate. The only thing that Vrubel’s sketches were made of were designs of his ornaments that were extremely typical of the Art Nouveau style – they were made up of bent lines, interwoven plant stems and scattered spangles of peacock feathers.

From 1889 to 1902, Vrubel creativity was experiencing the highest flowering, the time of its maturity. It was in the 1890s that the artist’s universalism manifested itself. Striving to implement in a variety of undertakings, Vrubel, in addition to writing the paintings, created a number of monumental paintings, performed theater decorations, engaged in graphics, sculpture, tried himself as an architect. At the same time, the theme of the Demon, who accompanied Vrubel almost all his life, was realized.

In 1902, the artist showed signs of mental disorder. In 1903, Vrubel’s two-year-old son died, and his mind finally broke. The disease then progressed, then retreated, but even being in the clinic, the artist did not stop drawing. In 1906 another misfortune – Vrubel went blind. In this condition he was destined to live another 4 years.