Собака

autumn 1880

From law to art

Having graduated and served a brief stint of military service, the 24-year-old Vrubel began auditing classes at the Academy of Arts in the autumn of 1880 and apparently started studying in Pavel Chistyakov’s studio at once — years he would later call “the brightest” of his artistic life. According to V. Domiteeva, the decision grew out of his study of Kantian aesthetics, which recognise the genius and his special mission only in art.

early 1880s

Friendship with Valentin Serov

At the Academy Vrubel became close to Valentin Serov: despite the ten-year age gap, a great deal bound them together, down to the deepest level. His years with Chistyakov changed Vrubel himself as well: decorative dandyism gave way to asceticism, as he proudly wrote to his sister.

autumn 1883

An invitation to Kiev

In the spring of 1883 “The Betrothal of Mary and Joseph” earned Vrubel the Academy’s second silver medal, and in the autumn Professor Adrian Prakhov, on Chistyakov’s recommendation, invited him to Kiev to restore the twelfth-century St Cyril’s Church. The offer promised good money — four icons in 76 days at 300 roubles for every 24 days of work — and the artist agreed to come once the academic year was over.

1884

Arrival in Kiev

Vrubel staged his arrival in Kiev in his own style: L. Kovalsky, a student at the drawing school, remembered a fair-haired young man in a black velvet suit, stockings and short breeches — “a young Venetian from a painting by Tintoretto or Titian”. Over the summer he earned 650 roubles, including in St Sophia’s Cathedral, where he painted three angels in the drum of the dome, and gave up all thought of finishing the Academy.

spring 1884

In love with Emilia Prakhova

The 27-year-old artist fell passionately in love with his patron’s wife, Emilia Prakhova, and gave her face to the Virgin in the icon “Virgin and Child”. A romance was out of the question, and once Vrubel moved into the Prakhovs’ dacha his romantic cult began to irritate both husband and wife.

1884–1885

Sent to Venice

The way out of an awkward situation was a mission to Ravenna and Venice to study late Roman and Byzantine art; Vrubel’s companion, the painter Samuil Gaiduk, waited two days for him in Venice while he went on a spree in Vienna. In wintry Venice the two shared a studio on Via San Maurizio, and Vrubel was captivated by the mosaics of San Marco and Torcello and by the early Renaissance masters — Carpaccio, Cima da Conegliano, Bellini.