The demon is defeated, Mikhail Wrubel – overview of the painting 
- Posted by Mikhail Vrubel
- Museum: Tretyakov Gallery
- Year: 1901 and 1902
Overview of the painting :
The demon is defeated – Mikhail Vrubel. 1901 and 1902. Oil on canvas. 139×387
“Demoniada” The phenomenon in art is exceptional. The image of the Enemy of the human, fallen angel, worried the artist unusually. Some tend to see in this interest the irreversible onset of mental illness that hit the author at the end of life. But most are inclined to the fact that the author was not interested in Evil itself, but in the unbridled desire for freedom and the protection of his beliefs.
The artist created several sketches for the “verified demon.”. Finding the necessary composition, the artist remade the picture several times in search of color and light. When the work was almost ready, the master again rewrote the work.
Today we have two different author versions of the same plot. If the “early” demon is a young man full of unearthly charms, whose unhappy expression makes the viewer sympathize and empathize with the defeated rebel. The “late” demon, if defeated, is not submissive.
Both fallen angels are deprived of wings, the path for them in the “heaven” is closed forever. Luxurious feathers are lying in a mess, and the wings themselves suddenly petrified.
The first of the “demons” lies with a submissive and detached face. The second glows with full determination to continue the struggle.
It is known that while working on the “Praised Demon”, the artist was irritated and unsociable. The mood of his work was transferred to the author and, possibly, provoked an aggravation of the disease.