Description of the picture:
Pan – Mikhail Vrubel. 1899. Oil on canvas. 124×106
Among the paintings "fairy cycle" Researchers precisely this work give the palm. A classic story from ancient mythology, inspired by the master novel by Anatole France, "sounds" completely in the Russian manner. This master draws the attention of the public very persistently.
It is known that the master himself called his work "Satyr", and the name "Pan" – result "creativity" critics.
Before the viewer is a mythical guardian of natural wealth, a pagan goat-footed pan. The background of the picture is an impeccably Russian landscape with birches, a waning moon and a river drowning in thickets. Illuminated by moonlight, the goat-footed hero is more like a Russian fairy goblin. The viewer only sees clearly "human" hypostasis of the hero. The outlines of the bestial are lost in the shade. The viewer has the feeling that he is present at the time of the miraculous appearance of the hero in front of the eyes of mortals.
Big senile hands with knotted fingers – as a reminder of an immortal life, wise, filled with a special, inaccessible to the uninitiated sense. It is impossible to break away from the eyes of the guardian of natural treasures. His eyes are bright, piercing and unusually kind. A thick mustache lost in a smile.
The deliberate disproportionality of the body, the violation of perspective – all this only emphasizes the fabulous plot of the picture, its deep meaning and idea."