Updated November 2026 · ranked by our popularity score (searches, visits and orders for each work) · 211 works by Mikhail Vrubel in our catalogue
In short
Of all the originals Mikhail Vrubel left, the most famous is Swan Princess, in the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. Close behind it come The Seated Demon and Swan-Princess (1904). Our catalog holds 211 works by Mikhail Vrubel; the gallery has kept the 100 the world admires most, each shown with its date, its museum and its story.
The Swan Princess (Царевна-Лебедь) is a significant work by the Russian artist Mikhail Vrubel. Created in 1900, this oil on canvas captures a moment of profound metamorphosis. The subject matter finds its roots in the folklore of Alexander Pushkin, specifically drawn from the tale The Tale of Tsar Sultan. It is a work that bridges the gap between literary myth and the theatrical stage.
In the hauntingly beautiful masterpiece The Seated Demon, created in 1890, Mikhail Vrubel invites us into a realm where the boundaries between reality and the supernatural dissolve. This quintessential work of the Symbolist movement captures a moment of profound introspection, presenting a demonic figure not as a creature of pure malice, but as an embodiment of spiritual longing and cosmic sorrow. The subject sits in a contemplative, almost heavy pose,…
To gaze upon Mikhail Vrubel's Swan-Princess is to step across a threshold into a realm woven from myth, moonlight, and profound introspection. This captivating oil on canvas, dating from 1904, is not merely a depiction of a woman by a river; it is an embodiment of the Symbolist spirit itself. The air around the figure seems thick with unspoken narratives—a delicate balance between ethereal beauty and deep, submerged mystery. Vrubel,…
A man sits draped in red, his presence heavy with the weight of a silent history. He wears a turban, a crown of folded fabric, and a gold belt cinches his waist like a line of sunlight. One arm rests over his shoulder, a gesture of casual authority or perhaps a weary stillness. In his hand, he holds a large book or a heavy scroll, a vessel for words and…
In the quiet, evocative depths of Mikhail Vrubel’s 1883 watercolor, Hamlet and Ophelia, we are invited into a world that transcends the boundaries of mere illustration. This masterpiece does not simply depict a scene from William Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy; rather, it captures the very essence of the Symbolist movement through a lens of profound intimacy. The painting presents two women seated in an old-fashioned, perhaps timeless, interior, facing one…
In Mermaid, Mikhail Vrubel presents a mythological creature adrift in a natural setting. The figure reclines within the water, a pale shape amidst a cluster of lily pads and reeds. This scene, painted about 1891, captures a moment of quietude. The mermaid rests where the surface meets the depths, surrounded by the organic geometry of the aquatic plants.
The air feels heavy with the scent of ancient dust and magic as the scene unfolds. High above a sleeping town, the boundary between the physical and the supernatural thins to a translucent veil. A man rides a horse through the sky, his form caught in a moment of frantic, soaring motion. Beside him, the presence of Mephistopheles looms, a shadow cast against the heavens. They are not merely traveling;…
The air feels heavy with the weight of ancient melody as Sadko stands at the center of a swirling human ring. He is a merchant of Novgorod, yet here he seems more a conduit for something supernatural than a man of commerce. Around him, friends and musicians lean in, their instruments poised to catch the notes that seem to ripple through the very atmosphere. The scene is alive with a…
In the quiet intimacy of his studio, Mikhail Vrubel approached the delicate medium of watercolor to compose Red Azaleas. Created about 1886, this work captures a specific moment in the artist's development. At this stage, Vrubel was refining a way of seeing that moved away from the rigid constraints of academic realism. He sought instead to find a more personal, idiosyncratic language through form and line.
The eyes meet you first. They are piercing, heavy with an unsettling intensity that seems to pull the viewer into a private, dark encounter. This close-up portrait focuses tightly on the head and shoulders of a demonic figure, creating a sense of immediate, almost claustrophobic intimacy. The face is defined by sharp features and a gaze that conveys both power and menace. Around this central presence, thick, swirling brushstrokes move…
Demon and Angel with Tamara's Soul1891
12
Eastern dance1887
13
Catania. Sicily.1894
14
Head of Demon
15
Anna Karenina meets her son1878
16
Self Portrait1880
17
Lady in furs1880
18
Salieri pours poison into a Mozart's glass1884
19
Hamlet and Ophelia1884
20
Karibeevich1891
21
The Flying Demon1890
22
Demon looking to the valley1891
23
Demon by the walls of monastery1891
24
Demon looking1891
25
Tamara Dancing1891
26
Resurrection1887
27
Walking on Water1891
28
Christ in Gethsemane1888
29
Bogatyr1898 · The State Russian Museum
30
Portrait of a T. Lyubatovich in role of Carmen1895
31
Captured Pechenegs (Costume design for the opera "Rogneda")1896
32
The Demon Flying1899 · The State Russian Museum
33
After the Concert, at the Fireplace1905 · Tretyakov Gallery
34
Night1900
35
Portrait of a young man1903
36
A bed1904
37
Self Portrait1904
38
Portrait of Doctor Fiodor Usoltsev1904
39
Princess Volhova1900
40
Pearl oister1904
41
Portrait of Savva Vrubel , the Artist's Son1901
42
Prince's huntsman (Costume design for the opera "The Enchantress")1900
43
Fallen Demon1901
44
Portrait of Nadezhda Zabela-Vrubel1903
45
The Six Winged Seraph1904
46
Nadezhda Zabela-Vrubel as Princess Volkhova1898
47
The Virgin and Child
48
The Rose
49
Pearl Oyster
50
Lilac
51
Spring1900 · The Art Museum RIGA BOURSE
52
The left artist's hand1882
53
Two gondolas on the quay1885
54
Odessa harbour1885 · Amsterdam Museum
55
Field flowers1884
56
Archangel Gabriel1885
57
Briar1884
58
Moses1884
59
Male nude1882
60
A model with eastern dress1884
61
Italian fisherman1885
62
Virgin and Child1884
63
Portrait of student1882
64
Pieta1884
65
Still Life. Plaster mask, horn of chandelier.1885
66
Descent of Holy Spirit on the Apostles1885
67
Self Portrait1882
68
Sitter in the Renaissance Setting1883
69
Woman's Head (Emily L. Prahova)1884
70
Angel with Labara1884
71
Feasting Romans1883
72
Betrothal of Mary and Joseph1881
73
Horseman1890
74
Prince Guido (Costume design for the opera "The Tale of Tsar Saltan")1890
75
Italy. Scenes of ancient life. (Sketch for the curtain in Russian Private Opera)1891
76
Piet1887
77
Tamara Lying in State1891
78
Orchid1887
79
Hamlet and Ophelia1888
80
Flowers in a Blue Vase1886
81
Muse1890
82
Resurrection1887
83
Rider (''Is carried horse faster of fallow-deer...'')1891
84
Portrait of an Officer (Pechorin on a Sofa)1889
85
Farewell of Zara with Ismail1890
86
Portrait of M. V. Yakunchikova1887
87
Red Flowers and Leaves of Begonia in a Basket1887
88
A Man in a Russian Old Style Costume1886
89
Eastern Tale1886
90
Parting of the Sea King and Princess Volkhova1898
91
Playing naiads and tritons1897
92
Morning1897
93
Faust1896
94
Hansel and Gretel1896
95
Venice1893
96
Water Lilies1895
97
Knight1896
98
The Fortune Teller1895
99
Primavera1894
100
Viking Merchant (Costume design for the opera ''Sadko'')1897
The four subjects that come back most often in these originals, each with its finest example.
The 5 museums that hold the most of the paintings on this page.
| Museum | City | Works by Mikhail Vrubel | Paintings from this list |
|---|---|---|---|
 Tretyakov Gallery |
Moscow | 15 | Swan Princess, Swan-Princess, After the Concert, at the Fireplace |
 The State Russian Museum |
St. Petersburg | 3 | Bogatyr, The Demon Flying |
 Tereshchenko Museum |
Kiev | 1 | Head of Demon with mountains |
 The Art Museum RIGA BOURSE |
Riga | 1 | Spring |
 Amsterdam Museum |
Amsterdam | 1 | Odessa harbour |
Pick a decade to see the original that defines it.
In Anna Karenina meets her son by Mikhail Vrubel, the composition centers on an intimate encounter between a woman and a young girl. The seated woman leans toward the child, creating a diagonal movement that draws the eye across the central figures. The girl is positioned to look at her own reflection in a mirror, a detail that introduces a secondary focal point within the domestic space. This arrangement emphasizes…
A man sits draped in red, his presence heavy with the weight of a silent history. He wears a turban, a crown of folded fabric, and a gold belt cinches his waist like a line of sunlight. One arm rests over his shoulder, a gesture of casual authority or perhaps a weary stillness. In his hand, he holds a large book or a heavy scroll, a vessel for words and…
In Mermaid, Mikhail Vrubel presents a mythological creature adrift in a natural setting. The figure reclines within the water, a pale shape amidst a cluster of lily pads and reeds. This scene, painted about 1891, captures a moment of quietude. The mermaid rests where the surface meets the depths, surrounded by the organic geometry of the aquatic plants.
To gaze upon Mikhail Vrubel's Swan-Princess is to step across a threshold into a realm woven from myth, moonlight, and profound introspection. This captivating oil on canvas, dating from 1904, is not merely a depiction of a woman by a river; it is an embodiment of the Symbolist spirit itself. The air around the figure seems thick with unspoken narratives—a delicate balance between ethereal beauty and deep, submerged mystery. Vrubel,…
Swan Princess, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. The Seated Demon and Swan-Princess (1904) come next.
Swan Princess, The Seated Demon, Swan-Princess, Persian Prince, Hamlet and Ophelia, Mermaid, Flight of Faust and Mephisto, Sadko, Red Azaleas and Head of Demon with mountains. The ranking above gives each one's year and museum.
Our catalog holds 211 works by Mikhail Vrubel, dated from 1878 to 1905.
Mostly in Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow), The State Russian Museum (St. Petersburg) and Tereshchenko Museum (Kiev). The museum table above lists them all.
In 1880s: 42 of the 100 works on this page were made then, Persian Prince among them.
On this page, the earliest is Anna Karenina meets her son (1878) and the latest After the Concert, at the Fireplace (1905).
Woman (13), Man (11) and Flowers (9), across the 100 works on this page.
Oil On Canvas, for 17 of the 100 works on this page.
Symbolism, judging by the originals on this page.
Swan Princess, Swan-Princess and After the Concert, at the Fireplace: the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow holds 3 of the works on this page.
Mikhail Aleksandrovich Vrubel was born in Omsk, Russia. His upbringing was shaped by a family with noble roots and a father who served in the military. Though he eventually graduated from the faculty of law at St. Petersburg University in 1880, his focus remained on the canvas. He entered the Imperial Academy of Arts to study under Pavel Chistyakov, where he began to develop a style that felt different from the traditional realism of his peers. His early training was marked by a specific way of seeing, one that favored an idiosyncratic approach to form and line.
In 1884, a significant shift occurred when he was commissioned to recreate the 12th-century murals and mosaics in the St. Cyril's Church of Kiev. This work required him to look closely at medieval Christian art. His time spent studying these ancient works, including trips to Venice, changed his palette. He began to use strong, saturated tones that reminded observers of precious stones, moving away from the muted colors of the academic tradition.
Vrubel’s work often occupied the space between the physical world and the realm of myth. He was drawn to the textures of Persian carpets and the patterns of Oriental art, which he translated into his paintings through a technique that imitated the look of mosaic tesserae. This method involved using a painting knife to apply bold, flat strokes, creating sharp, faceted edges. This approach gave his surfaces a crystalline quality, as if the oil paint itself were made of stained glass or gemstones.
His fascination with folklore and the supernatural is most visible in his depictions of mythical figures. His paintings often explored themes of isolation and longing. Some of his most discussed works include:
In these pieces, he did not aim for strict realism. Instead, he used decorative space and unusual forms to capture a sense of spiritual or psychological depth. His collaboration with the opera singer Nadezhda Zabela-Vrubel also influenced his output, leading him to design stage sets and costumes that expanded his reach into the theatrical arts.
The later years of Vrubel's life were marked by personal struggle. A severe nervous breakdown in 1906, complicated by illness, forced him to stop painting. He spent his final years in a psychiatric clinic before passing away in 1910. Despite the difficulty of his final decade, his influence on Russian Symbolism and Art Nouveau remains a central part of the history of modern art. He helped pave the way for the avant-garde movements that followed, moving the focus of Russian painting toward a more expressive and modernist idiom.
