Mikhail Aleksandrovich Vrubel

Mikhail Aleksandrovich Vrubel (born March 5 [March 17, New Style], 1856, Omsk, Russia—died April 1 [April 14], 1910, St. Petersburg) was a Russian painter, sculptor, and draftsman who was a pioneer of Modernism with an original vision. An innovator by nature, Vrubel rejected tradition, but he was out of step with his times. He was misunderstood by his contemporaries, and his life ended tragically. Russian artists of the avant-garde, however, considered him their forefather. Initially...