Author: Mikhail Alexandrovich Vrubel
Years of life: (1856 - 1910)
Size: 114 × 211 cm
Technique: Oil on canvas.
Time of creation: 1890
Location: State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
In 1891, for the half-century anniversary of Lermontov's death, Mikhail Vrubel wrote thirteen illustrations for the anniversary edition of the works of M. Y. Lermontov (1814-1841) edited by P. P. Konchalovsky. Most of the works related to Lermontov's poem "The Demon", written by the poet in 1839. The sketch of the painting was created in 1890 and is kept in the State Tretyakov Gallery. Vrubel painted his painting "The Demon sitting" in Moscow in the house of entrepreneur Savva Mamontov.
It entered the museum in 1917 from the collection of V. O. Girshman. The work is recorded in the inventory book of the State Tretyakov Gallery under the number 5600.
The plot of the painting is inspired by Lermontov's poem "The Demon". Vrubel wrote about his work as follows:
A demon is not so much an evil spirit as a suffering and sorrowful one, with all this a domineering, majestic spirit..
The demon is an image of the power of the human spirit, internal struggle, doubts. Tragically clasping his hands, the Demon sits with sad, huge eyes directed into the distance, surrounded by unprecedented flowers. The background of the painting is a mountainous area in a scarlet sunset. The composition emphasizes the constraint of the figure of the demon, as if squeezed between the upper and lower crossbars of the frame. The painting is painted in Vrubel's individual style with the effect of crystal facets, which makes his paintings look more like stained glass windows or panels. The artist achieved this effect with the help of flat strokes made with a palette knife. Vrubel endowed the demon's face with feminine features. He wanted to show something in between the male and female elements.
