The first significant piece of Russian Symbolism, which established its main subject matter - the pursuit of the creative individual to reach the eternal beauty. The artist creates an image maintaining the spiritual searches of his era. Topic Demon, embodies the eternal struggle of a restless spirit, became a principal idiosyncrasy in the Vrubel's works. The artist combines the techniques of a painter and sculptor, which receives its representation in the creation of forms similar to the cut stones, and as a result, monumental technique imitating mosaic was born.

Panel was commissioned by S.I. Mamontov to decorate the "Art Department" pavilion of the Nizhny Novgorod exhibition of 1896. Vrubel selected a plot of French poet and playwright Rostand' drama "Princess Dreams" (1895), written on the basis of a medieval knight's legend about the love of Prince Zhoffrua Ryudelya to the beautiful Princess Melisande. The work formed the basis of a majolica panels painted by Vrubel for the facade of hotel Metropol (1899-1903) in Moscow.