Title: “Demon Prostrate”
Artist: Mikhail Vrubel
This piece, created in 1902, comes again from the Demon collection of Mikhail Vrubel. His dark scenes and ominous subjects seem to match many aspects of the novel, Dr. Zhivago. In “Demon Prostrate,” I found another portrayal of a demon that seemed to contain even less goodness than “Demon Seated,” calling to mind images of my least favorite character of the novel, Komarovsky.
In this piece, the demon has not hesitations about his nature, about doing evil. He face is dark, contorted, contemptuous. On top of this, the demon is laying down, body spread out, reclining, as if to relax or demonstrate his carefree attitude about his actions. As I describe the painting, it seems that I am describing Komarovsky directly. To describe his relationship to her mother in Chapter 2, Lara says, “Mama is his- what’s the word? … He is Mama’s… They’re bad words, I won’t say them.” She later becomes distressed at his control over her life and her mother’s life. Lara regrets her lack of treachery, described as “his [Komarovsky] greatest asset in dealing with the weak.” He seems to have no regret, no remorse, and no intention of changing his ways.
As I mentioned earlier, the composition adds to the representation of Komarovsky. In addition to the position and image of the demon itself, the dark, somber colors add to the impression of Komarovsky, and the cold, snow-covered, mountainous scene reflects his cold, insensitive nature.
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