II.

"Vrubel’s biographers have made a special effort to separate reality from myth in the memoirs of the artist left by his relatives, friends and critics, on which they had to rely for their findings. The resulting descriptions portray Vrubel as a person endowed with controversial, often complex and versatile traits. The contradictions that abound in the descriptions of Vrubel’s character and conduct should, in all likelihood, be attributed not only to the complexity of his personality, but also to the possible effect of psychopathology on his behavior. We suppose that Vrubel suffered from affective disorder, complicated by syphilis, which influenced his creativity."

© V. Lerner, M. Kanevsky, E. Wiztum
"M.A. Vrubel: Relationship between Mental Illness and Creativity" 
("Independent Psychiatric Journal", 2004/1)