Mikhail Vrubel: The Head of the Demon

Self Portrait 1904-05

Mikhail Vrubel is generally considered the greatest of the Russian Symbolist painters. The departure from realistic naturalism in russian painting that had begun with Mikhail Nesterov's enigmatic painting The Visitation realized it's full expression in the work of Vrubel. His unique style and great talent are evident in this fantastic self portrait in pencil from 1904-1905.

In 1890, Vrubel painted a series of black and white watercolour illustrations for Mikhail Lermontov's romantic poem The Demon. Later that year Vrubel exhibited a large oil painting called The Seated Demon in Moscow. The painting caused a great deal of controversy. At first the work was condemned by conservative critics. Some even called it ugly. But later art patron Savva Mamontov praised Vrubel's genius and commissioned him do some paintings for his private opera house. The scandal made Vrubel famous.

I have posted The Seated Demon and the watercolour illustrations here with some excerpts from Mikhail Lermontov's The Demon.

The Seated Demon 1890

His way above the sinful earth
The melancholy Demon winged
And memories of happier days
About his exiled spirit thronged;
Of days when in the halls of light
He shone among the angels bright;
When comets in their headlong flight
Would joy to pay respect to him
As, chaste among the cherubim,
Among th' eternal nebulae
With eager mind and quick surmise
He'd trace their caravanserai
Through the far spaces of the skies;
When he had known both faith and love,
The happy firstling of creation!
When neither doubt nor dark damnation
Had whelmed him with the bitterness
Of fruitless exile year by year,
And when so much, so much...but this
Was more than memory could bear.

Head of Demon 1890-91

Outcast long since, he wandered lone,
Having no place to call his own,
Through the dull desert of the world
While age on age about him swirled,
Minute on minute - all the same.
Prince of this world - which he held cheap -
He scattered tares among the wheat....
A joyless task without remission,
Void of excitement, opposition -
Evil itself to him seemed tame.

Tamara Dancing 1890-91

So by the midnight star I swear
By blazing East and beaming West
No Shah of Persia knew her peer
No King on earth was ever blessed
To kiss an eye so full and fine.
The harem's sparkling fountain never
Showered such a form with dewy pearls!
Nor had mortal fingers ever
Caressed a forehead so divine
To loose such splendid curls;
Indeed, since Eve was first undone
And man from Eden forth must fare
No beauty such as this, I swear,
Had bloomed beneath the Southern sun.

The Demon did see.... For one second
It seemed to him that heaven beckoned
To make his arid soul resound
With glorious, grace-bestowing sound -
And once again his thought embraced
The sacrosanct significance
Of Goodness, Beauty and of Love!
And, strangely moved, his memory traced
The joys that he had known above
A chain of long magnificence
Before him link on link unfolding
As though he watched the headlong flight
Of star on star shoot through the night....

The Rider 1890-91

Swift as a stag still runs the horse
Snorting as though he held his course
In some fierce charge, now plunging on
Now pulling up as though to harken
His nostrils flared to sniff the wind:
Then leaps up and comes ringing down
On all four hooves, sets sparking
The stones and, in his mad career,
His tangled mane streams out behind.
A silent rider he does bear
Who lurches forward now and then
To rest his head in that wild mane.
The reins lie slack in useless hands,
The feet are deep-thrust in the stirrups,
And on his saddle-cloth the bands
Of blood are broadening as they gallop
Ah gallant steed, your wounded master
You bore from battle swift as light
The ill-starred bullet sped yet faster
And overtook him in the night!

Tamara and Demon 1890-91

I am he to whom you barkened
In the stillness of the night,
He whose thought your mind has darkened,
He whose sadness you have felt,
Whose image haunts your waking sight,
Whose name the end of hope has spelt
To every soul with whom I treat.
I am he no man may love,
A scourge to all my mortal slaves,
The ill in nature. Enemy
To Heaven and all the powers above.
Lord of knowledge, liberty.
And, as you see, I'm at your feet.
Moved beyond all that I have known
I would speak softly in your ears
Quiet prayers of love. Tell of my pain,
My first on earth, and my first tears.
Ah hear me out, for pity's sake!
One word from you would quite restore me.
Robed in the love of your pure heart
I might again resume my part
In the angelic ranks and take
An aspect new and a new glory.
Ah, hear me, hear me I implore you,
I am your slave and I adore you!
No sooner did I see you than
I felt a sudden, veiled revulsion
For immortality and power;
And I was drawn by strange compulsion
To envy the frail joys of man;
Life without you became a torment
To be apart from you - a horror.
A living ray of warmth, a portent
Of fair renewal touched my heart
And set the cold blood coursing. Sorrow
Beneath the scar stirred like a serpent
Awakening an ancient pain.
For, tell me, without you what gain
Is there in my infinity?
Endless dominion, majesty?
Loud, empty words - a spacious fane
Devoid of all divinity!

Tamara Lying in State 1890-91

My life is wondrous full and new,
The crown of thorns I proudly cast
With my own hands from off my brow.
All that I have been shattered lies:
My heaven and hell are in your eyes.
I love you with a passion vast.
You cannot love as I love you,
With all the ecstasy and power
Of deathless thought and dreams sublime.
Since the beginning of all time
Your image on the eternal air
Has gone before me - till this hour.
My soul has long been troubled by
The sweet sounds of the name you bear;
And in my days of blessedness
You were my only lack.

And most gently he
Did touch his burning lips to hers;
Full of seduction were the words
In which he soothed her soft repining;
His mighty gaze held fast her eyes
And burnt her.- In the cloistered shade
He glinted poised above her, shining.
Inevitable as a blade.
The evil spirit overcomes her.
His kiss, like deadly poison, numbs her
And stills the heart within her breast.
One terrified and anguished cry
Aroused the silent night from rest.
It was a last, a desperate plea
Yet full of love, live agony,
Hopeless farewell, finality...
To her young life a last good-bye.

Demon and Angel with Tamara's Soul 1890-91

Circled by the strong arms which bore her,
Tamara's sinful soul shrank close
To the protecting angel's side
Seeking in prayer her fear to hide.
Now, once again, he stood before her
But - Heavens! Who would know him now?
His gaze so brooding and morose
So venomous with hate eternal...
It seemed a death-like cold infernal
Lay on that frozen face and brow.
"Spirit of darkness, get thee gone!"
Heaven's messenger then made reply:
"The victory has been yours for long
Enough, and now the end is nigh.
Just is the judgement of the Lord!
The days of trial are over, past:
With the frail flesh, know. she has cast
Off all the claims of evil too!
For long now we have waited for her:
Her soul was of those very few
Who at the price of martyr's pain
Endured one moment long attain
To tasting joy beyond compare.
The Maker spun its living thread
Out of the finest, purest air
Not for the dull world was she made
No more that it was made for her.
She has redeemed at cruel price
Her wavering faith in powers above.
She suffered, loved, laid down her life -
And Heaven opened to her love!"

The angel bent his gaze severe
Upon the Tempter, eye to eye,
Then joyful soared ... to disappear
Into the boundless, shining sky.
The Demon watched the heating wings
Fading triumphantly from sight
And cursed his dreams of better things,
Doomed to defeat, venting his spite
And arrogance in that great curse....
Alone in all the universe,
Abandoned, without love or hope!...

Like Lermontov's Demon, Vrubel had his Tamara as well. In 1896, he fell in love with the famous opera singer Nadezhda Zabela and they were married. She sang the parts of the Snowbird, the Swan Princess, and the Princess Volkhova in Rimsky-Korsakov's opera's. Vrubel designed stage sets and beautiful costumes for her. She was his fairy tale princess. He painted this beautiful portrait of her as the Swan Princess during this happy period.

Swan Princess 1900

Sadly, Vrubel's fate would be as tragic as that of Lermontov's Demon. In 1901, he suffered a nervous breakdown at an exhibition of the painting Demon Downcast, and was taken to a mental clinic where he was hospitalized. His mental illness was caused in part by syphilis. Eventually he became completely blind due to the disease.

Demon Downcast 1902

Vrubel continued to create some of his greatest work for a few years, until his vision loss and mental illness became too severe. This incredible painting called The Perl is one of his later works.

The Perl 1904

From the same period, this simple still life of a fresh cut rose in a glass of water is a wonderful example of the genius of Vrubel's unique technique and style.

The Rose 1904

This is another portrait of Nadezhda Zebela-Vrubel from this later period.

Portrait of Nadezhda Zabela-Vrubel 1904

This unfinished portrait of the poet and novelist Valery Briusov, a close friend of Vrubel's, is the last large work he attempted before he gave up painting in 1906 due to his increasing loss of vision and mental illness. He died four years later.

Portrait of Valery Briusov 1906

Read the entire text of Mikhail Lermontov's The Demon at www.friends-partners.org.

The tragic life of Simeon Solomon

A generation before Oscar Wilde's famous trial and imprisonment, another brilliant career was tragically cut short by the homophobia and intolerance of victorian english society.

On February 11th, 1873, two men were arrested for attempted sodomy in a public lavatory in Stratford Place Mews, off Oxford Street, in London. One of the men was Simeon Solomon, a promising young artist, then 33 years old, whose work had been exhibited at the Royal Academy. The other man was a 60 year old stableman named George Roberts. Both men were sentenced to 18 month's hard labor, the same sentence that destroyed Oscar Wilde 20 years later. Simeon Solomon served only 2 weeks of his sentence before being released on bail. Thanks to the help of Meyer Solomon, a wealthy cousin, his sentence was reduced to police supervision and a £100 fine a month later. George Roberts served his entire 18 month sentence.

Although he was released from jail, Solomon was ostracized by proper english society and his promising career abruptly ended, almost as if he had died. He fled to France after his release, but in 1874 he was arrested again in Paris and sentenced to 3 months in prison.

Simeon Solomon was thus thrust into obscurity just as he was achieving fame as an artist.

Love In Autumn 1866

Born on October 9th, 1840, he was the youngest of eight children from a respectable middle class Jewish family. His father was a prominent east end merchant named Michael Meyer Solomon. His mother, Catherine Levy Solomon, was an artist and nurtured an interest in the arts in her children. An older Brother, Abraham (1823-1862), and an older sister, Rebecca (1832-1886), were also artists.

Young Simeon showed precocious talent and his brother Abraham began teaching him painting around 1850. In 1852 he entered Carey's Art Academy. His sister Rebecca had her first exhibition at the Royal Academy the same year. Four years later Simeon would have his own exhibition at the Royal Academy.

Bacchus 1867

His early works are mostly religious scenes or depictions of Orthodox Jewish rituals. Solomon begins to show subtle traces of his sexuality in some of these works.

As a student Solomon was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite painters. The work of Dante Gabriel Rossetti in particular was a strong influence on the young student. Around 1858, Solomon met Rossetti, who introduced him to other members of the Pre-Raphaelite circle, such as the painter Edward Burne-Jones, the poet Algernon Charles Swinburne, and the critic Walter Pater.

Love Dreaming By The Sea 1871

Solomon was embraced by these prophets of aestheticism and became a disciple of art for art's sake. He moved out of his brother's studio around this time and the theme of his work shifted from religious subjects to classical mythology. Solomon's expression of his sexuality in his work increases dramatically at this stage. Sexually ambiguous androgenous youths, showing the influence of Burne-Jones, start to fill his canvases, expressing a homosexual aesthetic more openly and bravely than any artist had ever dared before. His work receives some harsh reviews, but is championed by Swinburne, Pater, and others within the Aesthetic Movement leading to more exhibitions of his work.

In the late 1860's, Solomon begins traveling to Italy to study classical painting. In 1867 he is accompanied on one of these trips by his lover, Oscar Browning, who would later become headmaster of Eton. The couple visit Rome and Genoa again in 1870, but their second trip is cut short, probably due to legal problems resulting from their same sex relationship. On their return to England the relationship apparently ends. Solomon starts to drink heavily around this time.

An Angel aka Love 1887

While in Italy, Solomon began composing a poem in defense of same sex love called A Vision of Love Revealed In Sleep. It was completed and published after his return to England. Imagery in the poem corresponds to iconography in many of Solomon's works in which he depicts love as an angelic young man.

Although praised by critic John Addington Symonds, the poem was otherwise universally condemned and was never republished. However Solomon continued to paint and exhibit and his fame grew until the tragic events of 1873-74 abruptly ended his public career.

Love And Lust date unknown

After his downfall, Solomon was abandoned by most of his friends and patrons. A loyal few attempted to continue their friendship with him, including Walter Pater and his cousin, Meyer, who gave him some commissions during this period. Little is known about his life after the arrests.

In 1885, Solomon moved into the St. Giles Workhouse, a sort of homeless shelter, where he continued to work and live for the last 20 years of his life. He was reduced to begging and selling matchsticks on the street. Unable to afford paint and canvas, he usually worked with pastels and charcoal on salvaged scraps of cardboard and paper. Yet he created some of his most beautiful work in this late period.

Angel Boy 1895

On August 14th, 1905, Simeon Solomon collapsed and died at the St. Giles Workhouse. The cause of death was listed as heart failure due to complications of bronchitus and alcoholism. He was buried in Willesden Jewish Cemetery.

Almost immediately after his death, Solomon's work began to receive recognition for the first time in decades. There were two memorial exhibitions of his work in 1906, one at the Royal Academy and one at the Baillie Gallery. In 1908 Julia Ellworth Ford wrote a book about him entitled Simeon Solomon: An Appreciation. However Solomon was soon forgotten again and faded into obscurity until research in gender studies renewed interest in his work in the 1990's, nearly a century later.

Untitled 1905

An online Simeon Solomon Research Archive has been created by art historian Roberto C. Ferrari as a repository of information about the artist. You will find it on my links of interest list.

Also a wonderful book called Love Revealed: Simeon Solomon And The Pre-Raphaelites has recently been published.

The photograph of Simeon Solomon is by David Wilkies c.1870.

Alfred Kubin: Drawings 1897-1909

An exhibition of Alfred Kubin's drawings 1897 - 1909 will be held by the Neue Galerie in NYC, September 25th, 2008 - January 26th, 2009. It will be the first exhibition of Kubin's graphic work in North America. A fantastic illustrated catalogue is available for purchase.

Here are a few samples from the exhibit. First, The Last King 1902. This was chosen as the front cover of the catalogue. Next, brace yourself for Self-Observation 1901-2, one of those indelible disturbing grotesques of Kubin's that may cause irreversible psychic trauma, forever etched unto your mind's eye. Below you will find Dying 1899. A nice example of the melancholia and macabre weirdness that infects all of Kubin's work like a morose virus.

The Last King 1902



Self-Observation 1901-2



Dying 1899



In addition to the Neue Gallery exhibition, the Fine Arts Museum Of San Francisco has a large collection of Kubins work posted for online perusal. Both websites are on my Links Of Interest list.

Homoeroticism in the art of John Singer Sargent

Was John Singer Sargent a homosexual? It has been suggested by art historian Trevor J. Fairbrother that the gentle eroticism of Sargent's male nudes is evidence of his homosexual tendencies.

This beautiful portrait of the 28 year old dandy W. Graham Robertson from 1894 has been much discussed as an example of an homoerotic aesthetic in Sargent's portraits of elegant young gentlemen.

Sargent was much sought after as a portrait painter among the elite of society because he made men look dashing and women look beautiful. The sensual beauty of his portraits of both men and women caused some comment. Some even called his portraits indecent.

Because of it's depiction of an apparently sexually liberated woman in a low cut gown, his portrait of New Orleans socialite Madame Pierre Gautreau caused quite a scandal in 1884. Sargent later changed the title to Portrait of Madame X to protect the models reputation and fled to England.


While in exile abroad Sargent associated with such flambouyant homosexuals as the great Oscar Wilde and the famous dandy Robert de Montesquiou.

By all accounts a quietly reserved and intensely private man, Sargent is said to have had close friendships with men and flirtations with women but no great relationships to speak of. His letters and other personal papers were destroyed by his family after his death. Therefore the only evidence we have about his sexuality is his work itself.


These sketches of male nudes were never exibited during Sargent's lifetime. They provide compelling evidence for Mr. Fairbrother's hypothesis, which I must say I am inclined to agree with.







The erotic quality of Sargent's male nudes is undeniable. Much of this work was never shown, although Sargent's murals in public buildings often feature a few writhing naked men.



Painted near the end of his life, this masterpiece called Nude Study Of Thomas E. McKeller, was found in Sargent's studio at the time of his death. It's a nude portrait of one of his favorite models and is one of the most compelling examples of homoeroticism in all of his work.



I can't help wondering why his family destroyed all his letters and personal papers after his death.

The Forge Of Vulcan by Diego Velazquez

This painting by Velazquez from 1630 depicts the god Vulcan appearing as a beautiful youth to the swarthy blacksmiths making armour at his forge deep within the volcanic bowels of the earth. I make no assertions as to the sexuality of Velazquez and have no information on that subject. I simply wish to point out the great beauty of his naturalistic renderings of the male figure. Just look at the play of light and shadow on the sinewy muscles of those masculine men. It's enough to make any connoisseur of the male figure giddy.


This painting of the god Mars further illustrates Velazquez's mastery of naturalistic depictions of manly subjects. I like that leather daddy moustache Mars is sporting. One wonders about the proliferation of sexy men in seventeenth century Spain.


In addition to painting mythological and religious subjects and portraits of royalty (the standard fare of artists in this period), Velazquez also painted the dwarves( an archaic term in our thankfully more civilized epoch) of the spanish court. These paintings are among Velazquez's most beautiful portraits. I find these of particular interest because they portray persons who overcame the prejudices of the brutal and barbaric world they lived in by exploiting those very prejudices with impressive cunning and tenacity to rise to positions of great wealth and influence.

Graffitti artist "Banksy" makes social commentary with art.

If you visit London and go for a stroll, you may notice some very interesting graffitti adorning the sides of buildings and garbage dumpsters.

This graffiti art is done clandestinely by a man known only by the signature "Banksy" on his work. His true identity is a mystery.

The images always make powerful social and political statements. Here are some images from Banksy's website to give you some examples. Shown here are cops kissing, a cop frisking a little girl, a Guantanamo prisoner, and one called Macdonna which shows the madonna expiring in despair after polishing off an extra value meal.

In addition to these graffitti masterpieces, Banksy has surreptitiously placed paintings in some of the world's snootiest museums. He has walked into museums such as The Metropolitan Museum Of Art and MOMA in broad daylight wearing a hat, overcoat, and a fake beard and glued his paintings to the wall next to multimillion dollar Vermeers and Picassos.

On Bansksy's website there are even videos of him in disguise with his face blurred sneakily hanging paintings in museums. He hangs a small painting of a caveman chasing a shopping cart in the middle of a cave painting exhibit at the natural history museum. He even goes to Disneyland and plants an inflatable dummy dressed as a Guantanamo prisoner near one of the rides. A choo choo train speeds by a few times before the ride is shut down for "security reasons".

Who is this art superhero? Is he a millionaire with plenty of cash for attorneys? Like a fictional superhero he keeps his true identity a secret in order to fight war, poverty, and social injustice. He reminds us of arts potential to call attention to the important issues in a world where most people are more interested in Britney Spear's lack of parenting skills than in how many people are dying of hunger, being tortured, or dying in wars.

He denies claims in the British tabloids that celebrities have purchased his work for huge sums of money. On his website he says he does not sell signed screen prints. Although at a recent exhibition at the Vanina Holesek Gallery in Manhattan signed prints were offered for sale. All the proceeds went to charity (I believe it was an organization that feeds starving children or some such noble cause). I should add that on his website he has a store where everything is free (to download and print). Available for free are posters, art prints, and a t-shirt design that says simply "Destroy Capitalism". Bravo Banksy! It's good to know art is not dead after all. Maybe art can save the world if others are inspired to follow his example. I hope so. This is what art is supposed to be about to begin with.

Visit the Banksy website:
http://www.banksy.co.uk//

L'ecole de Platon by Jean Delville

Here's an interesting painting by Jean Delville, circa 1898, entitled "L'ecole de Platon" or "Plato and his Disciples". The painting is of course a depiction of a homosexual Jesus and twelve very effeminate and affectionate disciples. The title no doubt prevented the inevitable lynching that would have occurred had Delville entitled it "Jesus and his Disciples", but also allegorizes connections between homosexuality, platonism, and early christianity which form part of the canon of aestheticism. Besides the painting is dripping in purple wisteria blossoms which match Jesus' blouse perfectly.