The World Within

The lilac is a very popular flower in Russia and one of Bregeda's favorite spring flowers. The main idea of this painting is an attempt to awaken the subconscious side of one's personality. Using a system of patterns and symbols, Bregeda transmits the contemplative, meditative, and philosophical mood of the painting.

The still life is in the landscape in the sand, which is a symbol of the lapse of time and its transient nature. The blooming lilac is a symbol of the aspects of consciousness and its bright descriptive interpretation. The vase is also real but when we look closer we see an entire world in it. The forest shown in the vase represents natural forces in human life, the structure of internal ego and the subconscious.

The forest and the lilac are linked together in a symbolic way. The trees symbolize new development, spiritual growth, and a new stage of life. The figures of a boy and a man with a ladder add to this idea. Two aspects of the personality, the conscious and the unconscious, are inseparable. Spiritual growth is possible through the comprehension of the concealed subconscious by our consciousness. On the canvas, this idea is also transmitted through the symbolism of the path which leads into the forest and far away.

The hazelnuts in the foreground are a symbol of knowledge. Concealed in their core is divine wisdom, which is accessible to all who desire to understand it, and who are willing to do the work required to obtain it.