1900
oil on canvas
142,5 х 93,5

Swan Czarevna is the heroine of the "Tales about Tzar Saltan" by A.S.Pushkin, suggested by the images of Old-Slavic myths. Pushkin's fairy tale found new life in the opera of the same title by N.A.Rimsky-Korsakov (1900). Vrubel designed the scenery for the production, with the artist's wife, Nadezhda Zabela-Vrubel (1868-1913) starring as Swan Czarevna. "All the singers sing like birds; and Nadya, as a human being!" Vrubel used to say about her performance. But the painting is not a costume portrait of the actress; it is a charming myth about supreme beauty, about the secret of its manifestation in the world. The aesthetics of symbolism interprets the swan as the epitome of inspiration, which may either elevate the soul or reveal to it darker, mysterious sides of life. The artist imparts to his image demonic traits. Swan Czarevna is a creature of dual nature: she epitomizes two elements: the dark, cold element of water, and the airy, celestial element pointing heavenward. The artist tries to seize the moment when a maiden turns into a bird, the miraculous metamorphosis of shapes, which seem to be melting in the last rays of the setting sun. He freezes the elusive movement of departing czarevna. The picture seems to be a disembodied phantom of a vision.

at 10, Lavrushinsky Lane, Hall 32