Makovskiy Vladimir Egorovich
Vladimir Egorovich Makovsky is a Russian painter and graphic artist of the post—Reform era, a teacher, a master of the genre scene, and a proponent of "democratic realism." Member of the Association of Peredvizhniki (since 1872).
Early years and education
Vladimir Makovsky was born on January 6 [February 7], 1846 in a creative family:
His father was Egor Ivanovich Makovsky, an official, amateur artist, collector, and one of the founders of the "nature class" on Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street (later the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture).
Mother — Lyubov Kornilovna Mollengauer, soprano singer, singing teacher at the Moscow Conservatory.
Brothers and sisters — Alexandra, Konstantin, Nikolai (artists), Maria (actress).
K. P. Bryullov, M. I. Glinka, N. V. Gogol, V. A. Tropinin, and M. S. Shchepkin visited the Makovsky house. Vladimir inherited musical abilities from his mother, learned to play the guitar and violin, and began drawing at an early age. He received his first painting lessons from Vasily Tropinin.
At the age of 15 (1861) he entered the Moscow College of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where he studied with S. K. Zaryanko and E. S. Sorokin. He graduated from college in 1866 with a silver medal for his paintings "An Artist selling old things to a Tatar" and "Literary Reading".
The creative path
Key milestones and achievements:
1869 — received the title of class artist of the first degree and the Viger‑Lebrun gold medal for the painting "Peasant boys guarding horses.
" 1872 — became a member of the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions, actively participated in exhibitions and since 1874 was a member of the board.
1873 — awarded the title of academician for the painting "Lovers of Nightingales" (exhibited at the World Exhibition in Vienna). Fyodor Dostoevsky praised the work, noting in it "love for humanity.
" 1880 — created the painting "The Collapse of the Bank", inspired by real events (the bankruptcy of the Moscow Commercial Loan Bank and the collapse of the Skopinsky Bank).
1894-1918 — taught at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg‑In St. Petersburg, in 1895 he was appointed rector.
Famous works:
"Kvasnik" (1861, Tretyakov Gallery) is one of the first paintings painted at the age of 15.
"The Game of Money" (1870, Tretyakov Gallery) is the first painting bought by P. M. Tretyakov.
"Lovers of Nightingales" (1873, Tretyakov Gallery).
"The collapse of the bank" (1880).
Main genres and themes
Makovsky has worked in various genres:
Everyday genre — scenes from the life of different classes ("The game of money", "Doctor's waiting room", "Party").
Religious painting — participated in the painting of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, created frescoes and iconostases.
Portraits and landscapes.
Caricatures and animalism.
Teaching activities
1882-1894 — taught at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture.
1894-1918 — directed the genre workshop at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg.
Among the students: A. E. Arkhipov, V. N. Baksheev, E. M. Cheptsov.
Awards and titles
Academician of the Imperial Academy of Arts (1873).
Full member of the IACH (1893).
Professor of the IACH (1894).
Full State Councilor (1905).
Orders of St. Anna, 3rd degree, St. Vladimir, 3rd degree, and St. Stanislaus, 1st degree.
Recent years
After the 1917 revolution, the Academy of Fine Arts was closed, and Makovsky retired from active artistic activity. He died on February 21, 1920 in Petrograd, and was buried at the Smolensk Orthodox Cemetery.
Makovsky's work is a panoramic look at Russian life in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries, where every character and scene conveys the spirit of the era. His works are kept in the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum and other large collections.