Vrubel М.А., (1856-1910), painter

Categories / Art/Fine Arts/Personalia
VRUBEL Mikhail Alexandrovich (1856-1910, St. Petersburg), painter. From childhood lived in St. Petersburg with his family. He visited the Drawing School of the Society for Encouragement of Arts in 1864 and 1868-69. He studied at the Faculty of Law of Petersburg University in 1874-80 and under P.P. Chistyakov in the Academy of Arts in 1880-84. He became a member of the Academy in 1905. He worked together with V. A. Serov in a workshop at 9 Tenth Line of Vasilievsky Island in 1883-84. He mainly lived in Kiev in 1884-89 where he painted churches and moved to Moscow in 1889. He was a founder of the Russian symbolism and art nouveau, his works chiefly characterised by high spirituality, expressive and dramatic interpretation, monumental structure of his compositions, and rich colours. Most of his works are penetrated with the image of the devil, he painted Flying Demon in 1899, exhibited in the State Russian Museum, and Demon Downcast in 1902, exhibited in the State Tretyakov Gallery, also turning to the Russian folklore, as in Bogatyr painted in 1898 and exhibited in the State Russian Museum and Swan Princess painted in 1900 and exhibited in the State Tretyakov Gallery. He joined the World of Art Association in the late 1890s and visited St. Petersburg regularly to take part in exhibitions. Living at 4 Teatralnaya Square in St. Petersburg in the winter of 1904-05, he painted After the Concert, a portrait of his wife N. I. Zabela-Vrubel, and Pearl, both pictures exhibited in the State Tretyakov Gallery, and also worked as a costume designer. A patient of Doctor Bari's Mental House in Fifth Line of Vasilievsky Island from 1906, he died in the hospital and was buried at Novodevichie Cemetery.

Reference: Тарабукин Н. М. Михаил Александрович Врубель. М., 1974; Врубель: Переписка. Воспоминания о художнике. Л., 1976; Дмитриева Н. А. Михаил Врубель: Жизнь и творчество. М., 1988.

O. L. Leikind, D. Y. Severyukhin. Bari Eduard
Chistyakov Pavel Petrovich
Serov Valentin Alexandrovich
Vrubel Mikhail Alexandrovich
Zabela-Vrubel Nadezhda Ivanovna
5th Line of Vasilievsky Island/Saint Petersburg, city
10th Line of Vasilievsky Island/Saint Petersburg, city, house 9
Teatralnaya Square/Saint Petersburg, city, house 4
Тарабукин Н. М. Михаил Александрович Врубель. М., 1974
Врубель: Переписка. Воспоминания о художнике. Л., 1976
Дмитриева Н. А. Михаил Врубель: Жизнь и творчество. М., 1988 State University, St. Petersburg
Academy of Arts
Academy of Arts
Russian Museum, State
World of Art, Association
Novodevichye Cemetery
Novodevichye Cemetery