Image #8
Mikhail Vrubel "The Six-Winged Seraph" (1904). In this painting, Vrubel uses
an image derived from Alexander Pushkin's poem "The Prophet" (1826). In Pushkin's
poem, the figure of the poet is described as dragging himself through a spiritual
desert. He is met by a six-winged seraph who touches the poet's eyes, ears
and lips, opening to him the mysteries of the world, normally hidden from
human eyes. Finally, he rips out the poet's heart and replaces it with a burning
coal. After this operation, the poet hears the voice of god who tells him:
"Arise, poet, and see, hear/Fulfill my will/And passing through the land and
seas/Ignite the souls of man with words." The notion of the artist as the
mediating force between the phenomenal and noumenal worlds was immensely popular
among the symbolists.