The legacy of the outstanding artist Mikhail Vrubel is a Russian cultural treasure. His work opened up new paths for the development of Russian art. According to Vrubel, an artist’s mission is “To awake the soul from the trivialities of everyday life with sublime images”. He was born in Omsk, but spent only a few years in his hometown. In 1860 when he was not even four years old, his father took him from Siberia. After his studies at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, Vrubel worked in Kiev for several years, and then moved to Moscow to spend the best period of his creative activities from 1890 until 1902.
This is when he created the monumental triptych “Flowers”, which included the panel pictures of “Roses and Orchids”, “Chrysanthemums” and “Yellow Roses”. This was a commission made by young artist Elizabeth Dunker, owner of a rich Moscow mansion on Povarskaya Street. The work adorned the ceiling above the principal staircase. The center part was given to the complex plafond of the “Chrysanthemums”, and on both sides of it was decorated by round plafonds with roses. Similar compositional technique of the space illusion was common for the late Renaissance.
