Mikhail Vrubel

Mikhail Vrubel (1856-1910)

Despite completing studies to become a lawyer, Vrubel never in his life worked as a lawyer. He then began studying at the Academy of Art where one of his professors recommended him as an artist to help restore frescoes in a Ukranian monastery. When he moved back to Russia, Vrubel encountered financial problems. Soon after, his father died and his son was born with a health defect. The writer’s troubles are reflected in his series of paintings dedicated to demons, such as Demon Seated. Toward the end his life, he had a nervous breakdown and was hospitalised. His last painting, The Prophet, was inspired by a poem of Alexander Pushkin. His completed it as mental illness was overpowering him and as he was approaching complete blindness.