The vision of Ezekiel

The Vision of Ezekiel, painted in 1906 and among Vrubel's last major works, draws on the prophetic vision of the Hebrew prophet Ezekiel from the Old Testament — specifically the vision of the chariot-throne (merkavah) described in Ezekiel chapters 1 and 10, in which the prophet sees divine figures surrounded by fire, crystalline vaults, and supernatural creatures. This visionary material — complex, hallucinatory, resisting conventional representation — was ideally suited to Vrubel's mature visual language of crystalline fragmentation and supernatural light. By 1906, Vrubel's mental illness had advanced significantly, and he was spending increasing periods in psychiatric care; the apocalyptic intensity of the Ezekiel vision may have carried personal resonance. The year 1906 also marked the collapse of his sight. The work connects to the broader Symbolist fascination with Old Testament prophecy as a prototype for modern spiritual and artistic vision.

The vision's supernatural subject requires Vrubel's most extreme departure from naturalism: crystalline planes of color suggest divine light without being representable through conventional means. Any figural elements would be constructed from the same faceted approach as his demonic subjects, creating formal continuity between divine and infernal vision. The color temperature would likely be warm — fire and golden light — contrasting with his typically cool nocturnal palette.