Description of the painting by Mikhail Vrubel “Walking on the waters”

Description of the painting by Mikhail Vrubel Walking on the waters

Mikhail Alexandrovich Vrubel, a prominent artist, an artist of the nineteenth century, worked in all possible genres of fine art, but women’s portraits created by him were especially famous. Canvases devoted to well-known biblical subjects, such as “Walking on the Waters”, were highly appreciated.

Using the full power of his skill, Mikhail Alexandrovich Vrubel wrote an extraordinary watercolor about the walk of Christ on the surface of the waters. The picture is extremely rich in its color palette of shades of blue. The technique of impressionism – small dotted strokes – was used by Vrubel when writing this picture. The whole feeling of greatness that is happening is achieved largely due to the richness of color. Turning from dark, almost black, saturated color shades to lighter, blue and white tones, Vrubel creates a unique circular composition of the picture.

Sailors who came out in stormy weather in the open sea, saw something amazing. The foreground of the picture is filled with the bare surface of the rocky shore. Boat sailors, driven by gusty winds and strives to break on the menacing stone breg. Suddenly, the sky lights up, menacing clouds stretching along both fronts diverge and the figure of the divine savior appears on the horizon. The anxious, menacing sky does not promise the sailors anything good, but in an instant they have hope. Merging with the tones of the sky itself, the Savior advances toward them, walking on the surface of the water. The faces of the sailors are directed towards the light, in the hope of throwing their eyes on the horizon line. The unusual airiness and fullness of images of the sky, water, and even heavy rocks is observed thanks to the artistic skill of Vrubel.


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Description of the painting by Mikhail Vrubel “Walking on the waters”