The Demon Seated

The Demon Seated
Russian: Демон (сидящий)
Artist	Mikhail Vrubel
Year	1890
Medium	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	115 cm × 212.5 cm (45 in × 83.7 in)
Location	Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia

The Demon Seated (Russian: Демон) is an 1890 symbolist piece by Russian artist Mikhail Vrubel.

Description

The painting depicts a demon sitting atop a mountain. His flexed musculature and wrought hands contrast vividly with his slumped figure and sad facial expression. He appears at once passive, introverted, proud and solitary. His body shows contrasting masculinity and femininity with his long hair and indolent gaze. His face seems desperate for love in his cold surroundings.

History

In 1889, Vrubel moved to Moscow where he would produce The Demon Seated as his first large canvass. The work was harshly criticized, yet moved him into a higher realm of artistic expression. In this piece, among others, Vrubel explored the theme of a Demon from Mikhail Lermontov's 1885 poem, which tells of a Byronic demon that fell in love with a Georgian princess, who dies as a result of his kiss.^[1] Vrubel portrays the Demon as a romantic spirit, full of hope and searching for harmony and truth. He seems to briefly fulfill his longing, but suddenly has his hopes dashed. The Demon is disillusioned and pines for retribution. In the end, he is crushed and has no place in this world.^[2] Vrubel described this Demon as “a spirit uniting in itself masculine and feminine qualities…a spirit, not so much evil as suffering and sorrowing, but in all that a powerful spirit…a majestic spirit”.^[3]

References