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Mihály Zichy painted his monumental work. The Triumph of the Genius of Destruction for the Paris World Fair of 1878. "Demon" was a study drawn for the central figure, but in its arrangement and romantic rendering, it is more than a mere sketch. In this drawing, Zichy depicted his own version of a demon - a being full of contradictions. In the Academically conceived, idealized body of this beautiful and young male, the artist captured an evil spirit endangering both universal and personal happiness. Elevated to a monumental scale, the figure of the demon is a late descendant of the Antique god Mars, and, at the same time, the forerunner of the approaching fin-de-siécle's demons of death. With its imposing and dynamic composition, this study stands out of the innumerable aquarelles, ink drawings, and detailed illustrations by Zichy.
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