Faust, Mikhail Vrubel, 1896 
- Posted by Mikhail Vrubel
- Museum: Tretyakov Gallery
- Year: 1896
Overview of the painting :
Faust – Mikhail Vrubel. Triptych. 1896.
Mephistopheles and a student. Left panel: Oil on canvas. 521×110.
Margarita. Medium panel: Oil on canvas. 435×104
Faust. Right panel Oil on canvas. 521×104
Triptych was created to decorate the interior of the house of one of the Morozov patrons. The plot is well known not only as the basis of numerous literary works, but also thanks to the opera Gouno. The artist often turned to opera stories and loved to “write” music.
The first part is a young student and an enemy of the human race. The contrast of the two images is striking, the conflict of work is in contrast to pure youth, greedy for everything new and unknown.
The central part of the triptych is beautiful Margarita. The master wrote this part of the work with his wife. It can be described as a hymn of pure love and beauty.
The triptych ends – a mature image of Faust. Logically dwelling on the key points of the work of the great poet and composer, the master draws the attention of the viewer to the most important moments of the life of each person. Here is inexperienced youth, influenced by vice, and a pure, bright feeling, and deservedly wise maturity.
The monumentality of the idea of the triptych corresponds to the monumentality of its embodiment. Three independent panels connected by one big topic.