THE MASTER OF THE UNFINISHED TOUCH – Mikhail Aleksandrovič Vrubel’ and the development of the fragmentary composition

MICHAIL ALEKSANDROVIK VRUBEL 1/4 – He is regarded amongst the Russian painters of the Symbolist movement. He stood aloof from contemporary art trends, so that the origin of his unusual manner should be sought in Early Renaissance painting. He entered the Imperial Academy of Arts, where he studied by direction of Pavel Chistyakov. He would develop a penchant for fragmentary composition and an “unfinished touch”.

MICHAIL ALEKSANDROVIK VRUBEL 2/4 – He was born in Omsk, and served in the Imperial Russian Army. He graduated from the Faculty of Law at St Petersburg University in 1880. He followed his father’s steps, taking part in the Caucasian and Crimean Wars. His wife, Anna Karlovna, von Krabbe was Danish. Even in his earliest works, he exhibited great talent for drawing and an idiosyncratic style. From 1884 to 1889, he lived in Kiev, where he worked on the restoration of icons and frescos of St. Cyril’s Church.

MICHAIL ALEKSANDROVIK VRUBEL 3/4 – An innovator by nature, he rejected tradition, but he was out of step with his times. In 1884, he was summoned to replace murals and mosaics in the St. Cyril’s Church of Kiev (in order to execute this commission, he went to Venice to study medieval Christian art). It was here that his palette acquired new strong saturated tones, resembling the iridescent play of precious stones. He was not only a painter. He was also a master of majolica. While in Kiev, he started painting watercolours illustrating the demon (from a long Romantic poem by Mikhail Lermontov).

MICHAIL ALEKSANDROVIK VRUBEL 4/4 – Around 1886, he executed some illustrations for Hamlet and Anna Karenina. In 1905, he created the mosaics of the hotel “Metropol” in Moscow. He had a severe nervous breakdown, and was hospitalized in a mental clinic. In 1906, overpowered by mental disease, he ceased painting. In moments of sanity, he painted surprisingly beautiful and unusual works. One of these paintings (The Pearl), is frequently cited as one of the most characteristic paintings of Russian Art Nouveau. He died on an April day, 1910.

To pursue this issue, you can also read:

http://meetingbenches.com/2016/11/experience-russian-winter/

http://meetingbenches.com/2016/11/michail-aleksandrovik-vrubel-18561910-russian-painter-innovator-nature-painter-rejected-tradition/