The Demon 1909

Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis made this striking image, called 'The Demon', using watercolour and tempera on paper. Look at those colours, the way he’s created an atmosphere that’s both brooding and beautiful. You can see the physicality of the medium, the watery washes, and the delicate layering of paint. There's a directness to the marks that lets you trace the process, feel his way of seeing. The dominant silhouette of the demon, poised in the foreground, is really interesting. See how it echoes the spiky shapes of the architecture? It’s as though the figure is another building, a part of the landscape itself, blurring the boundaries between the self and the world, the internal and external. The colour palette feels reminiscent of late Turner, but Ciurlionis's symbolic language is really his own. It's a reminder that art isn’t just about what we see, but how we feel and imagine.