Mikhail Vrubel. The Winner of the Demon

The personality of Mikhail Vrubel seems deliberately woven from contradictions. Constantly living among fellow artists, friendly with many — yet isolated from all. Proud, but without malice. Outwardly cold and selfish — yet in reality delicately sensitive, capable of the... most devoted love and friendship. Inclined to a bohemian life — and extraordinarily hardworking. An artist living on the cusp of the 19th and 20th centuries, almost indifferent to the forthcoming changes and upheavals that troubled society with an unprecedented force. The chaos of contradictions is often explained by mental illness, and Vrubel's creativity is seen as a mark of madness. But there is another viewpoint — it was creativity that saved the creator, made his personality so strong that even illness could not destroy it for many years. It is no coincidence that Mikhail Vrubel devoted so much attention and passion to fairy-tale and mythical beings. He himself was a hero of a fairy tale — sometimes sad, sometimes amusing, occasionally bright, but increasingly tragic towards the end. Yet, in this fairy tale, it is not about defeat and capitulation to darkness, but about victory over it.