Mikhail Vrubel was a Russian artist who worked in painting, graphic art, and monumental art. He was born in Omsk into the family of a military lawyer. He lost his mother at an early age and was raised by his father and stepmother, who paid close attention to his education. From childhood, he showed an interest in music, theatre, and drawing. At his father’s insistence, he enrolled in the Faculty of Law at St. Petersburg University, but he was not drawn to legal studies. During his student years, he created illustrations for literary works, including “Anna Karenina”. In 1880, he entered the Academy of Arts, where he studied under Pavel Chistyakov and worked in Ilya Repin’s watercolor studio. He was soon invited to Kyiv to restore the murals of St. Cyril’s Church. There he painted frescoes and icons and studied the Byzantine tradition. In 1885, he traveled to Italy, where he examined mosaics and medieval painting, experiences that influenced his artistic style. From the late 1880s, he lived in Moscow. He illustrated works by Mikhail Lermontov and began developing the image of the Demon, which became central to his works. Over time, he created an entire “Demon cycle”, a series of paintings, drawings, and sculptures. His painting style was characterized by a mosaic-like technique and a complex color palette. At Abramtsevo, he collaborated with Savva Mamontov, designing opera productions and creating stage costumes, sets, and decorative panels. For Mamontov’s opera, he designed productions of “Sadko” and “The Tale of Tsar Saltan”, and created sketches for operas such as “Rogneda” and “The Queen of Spades”, among others. In 1896, he married the opera singer Nadezhda Zabela. In addition to easel paintings, he fulfilled commissions in decorative art. In 1900, he was awarded a gold medal at the World Exhibition in Paris. In the early 1900s, he developed a severe mental illness. He continued to work and produced significant works, but in 1906 he lost his sight. He spent his final years under the care of his family. The Bakhrushin Theatre Museum collection holds costume and set designs, sculptures, and theatre programs created by Mikhail Vrubel.