The Flight and the Downfall of the Demon: Creativity and Illness in Vrubel's Life

Abstract

The life of Mikhail Vrubel (1856–1910), the Russian painter, combined remarkable artistic accomplishments with severe psychopathology. We have attempted to examine the influence of the changes in the artist's emotional state on the creative process. The contradictions that abound in the descriptions of Vrubel's character and conduct should, in all likelihood, be attributed not only to the complexity of his personality but also to the effect of psychopathology on his behaviour. We believe that Vrubel suffered from mood disorder, complicated by syphilis.