The history of Russia without embellishment in sincere paintings by Vladimir Makovsky, already at the age of 15, wrote for the Tretyakov Gallery

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Creation Vladimir Makovsky is a picturesque history textbook filled with short stories in paints about the life of people of all walks of life in Russia in the 19th century. As a prominent representative of the famous Makovsky dynasty of artists, the painter worked in the genre of critical realism. And his talent was so great that his first work, written at the age of 15, once adorned the walls of the Tretyakov Gallery.

The house of the Makovsky family, distinguished by its cordiality and hospitality, regularly gathered famous artists, musicians, writers and artists. It included celebrities of that time - Glinka, Gogol, Pushkin, Shchepkin. The artist inherited from his parents an immense love for art, a wonderful ear and a very beautiful voice.

Of the five children who were raised by Yegor Ivanovich and Lyubov Kornilievna Makovsky, three became famous artists. The most successful of all was brother Konstantin, who created in the manner of salon painting, the heroes of his canvases were people of the high society of many countries. What can not be said about Vladimir, he was less famous, but his paintings were textbook in nature, reflecting the life of Russia.

In a house where the atmosphere of art reigned, Vladimir very early joined the painting. He masterfully handled watercolors, oils, and pencils; and having a passion for music, he played the violin perfectly and sang excellently.

At the age of 15, Volodya, under the guidance of his teacher V. A. Tropinin created the painting "Boy Selling Kvass" (1861), which will adorn the walls of the Tretyakov Gallery.

Many paintings by V. E. Makovsky are a real reflection of the existence of almost all social strata and estates of the Russian Empire.

The talented painter, gazing intently at the world around him, sincerely sympathized with human grief and weaknesses, rejoiced from the bottom of his heart with their little successes. From under his brush one after another came out pictures telling about the fate of the common people.

For about half a century, he annually exhibited his new works at various exhibitions. And there have always been in the center of attention canvases of a topical nature, awakening thought and civic consciousness, understandable to the widest audience.

The painting, painted for the competition "Peasant boys guard horses at night," in 1869 brought the painter fame and a gold medal for artistic expression. At the same time, the Academy of Arts awarded the painter the title of artist of the 1st degree.

The canvas "At the Doctor's Office", presented at the exhibition in 1870, was a great success, and the artist was predicted to be of great fame. The intricate plot of the picture is saturated with subtle humor, and the technique is scrupulous in details. We see how a compassionate priest competently explains to the old woman his "correct" recipe for toothache. And that, in turn, with all its appearance embodies the faith living among the people in the miraculous healing power of folk methods of treatment.

In 1873, the painting "Nightingale Lovers" earned him the title of Academician of the Academy of Arts and was exhibited at the World Exhibition in Vienna, where it attracted considerable public interest.

Many of the artist's creations tell sad stories about people from the village, who are sucked into a gloomy and cruel city. Quiet sadness, tenderness, sorrow emanates from the eyes of the mother, who came from the village to visit her son who was given "to the people".

The artist also has plot canvases filled with touching lyricism and drama.

The marriage and the birth of two sons influenced the theme of the artist's work, who plunged into the world of childhood and created the canvases "Shepherdesses", "Night", "The game of grandmothers".

In many of Vladimir Yegorovich's paintings, light humor can be seen, and this is despite the complexity of the compositions filled with small details and a mass of images that were endowed with the appropriate character and facial expressions.

The idea of populism and the struggle for truth, which went through all of Makovsky's creative activities, served as a motive for the artist's entry into the ranks of the Association of Traveling Exhibitions in 1872. A year later, he already took a seat on the board.

His canvases have always been diverse, but recognizable in manner and technique. And his models were the simplest people, the crowd and onlookers in the streets, whose images became a kind of dedication to the life of peasants and working people. Moreover, the character of these people always exuded positive and sincerity.

And in order to emphasize the injustice in relation to the disadvantaged and disenfranchised strata of society, the painter in his works uses the contrast of characters: poor - rich, dirty - sleek, hungry - well-fed.

In almost every work, Vladimir Yegorovich created an intrigue that surprisingly fit into the composition of the picture. He, as it were, built the drama of his genres on well-arranged mise-en-scenes. All sorts of small household details and details each time successfully complemented the created image.

Possessing the unique gift of a psychologist, the master looked into the spiritual world of his heroes and, with the help of the found characteristic pose or expressive gesture, facial expressions enhanced the impression of what was happening in the picture.

The most socially shocking of his paintings were sometimes banned from censorship. Such was the fate of the canvas "Khodynka".

Vladimir Makovsky was very popular with the Moscow public, his canvases always sold well, unlike the works of most artists of that time. From the memoirs of the master's contemporaries:

Unlike his brother Vladimir - a lover of truth and a fighter for the honor of the humiliated and insulted, Konstantin Egorovich Makovsky was an expensive salon artist, who had in his clients to know not only Russia, but from the countries of Europe and America.