Konstantin Yegorovich Makovsky (russian: Константи́н Его́рович Мако́вский; (20 June o.c.) 2 July n.c. 1839 – 17 o.c. (30 n.c.) September 1915) was an influential

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

, affiliated with the " Peredvizhniki (Wanderers)". Many of his historical paintings, such as ''Beneath the Crown'' (1889) also known as ''The Russian Bride's Attire'' and ''Before the Wedding'', showed an idealized view of Russian life of prior centuries. He is often considered a representative of

Academic art Academic art, or academicism or academism, is a style of painting and sculpture produced under the influence of European academies of art. Specifically, academic art is the art and artists influenced by the standards of the French Académie ...

Biography

Konstantin Makovsky (1839-1915) was a famous Russian realist painter who opposed academic restrictions that existed in the art world at the time. His father was the Russian art figure and amateur painter, Egor Makovsky and his mother was a composer. Because of his parents' professions, Makovsky showed an early interest in painting and music. He entered the

Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture The Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (russian: Московское училище живописи, ваяния и зодчества, МУЖВЗ) also known by the acronym MUZHZV, was one of the largest educational insti ...

at the age of 12, where he was influenced by teachers such as

Vasily Tropinin Vasily Andreevich Tropinin (russian: Васи́лий Андре́евич Тропи́нин; – ) was a Russian Romantic painter. Much of his life was spent as a serf; he didn't attain his freedom until he was more than forty years old. ...

and

Karl Bryullov Karl Pavlovich Bryullov (russian: Карл Па́влович Брюлло́в; 12 December 1799 – 11 June 1852), original name Charles Bruleau, also transliterated Briullov and Briuloff, and referred to by his friends as "Karl the Great", was a ...

. After graduating, Makovsky went to France in hopes of becoming a composer, but after touring Europe in order to get acquainted with traditional folk and classical music, he ultimately chose painting. In 1858 Makovsky entered the

Imperial Academy of Arts The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the Thr ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, where he created artworks such as ''Curing of the Blind (1860)'' and ''Agents of the False Dmitry kill the son of Boris Godunov (1862)''. In 1863, Makovsky and thirteen other students protested against the Academy's decision to only allow artwork of Scandinavian mythology in the competition for the Large Gold Medal of Academia. Thus, all of them left the academy without a diploma. This incident later came to be known as the " Revolt of the Fourteen". Later, Makovsky joined the

Artel of Artists The St. Petersburg Artel of Artists was a cooperative association (artel) led by Russian artists during 1863–1871. It was founded in Saint Petersburg on the initiative of Ivan Kramskoi following a revolt by fourteen students in the St. Petersb ...

, a cooperative association founded by

Ivan Kramskoi Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoi (russian: Ива́н Никола́евич Крамско́й; June 8 (O.S. May 27), 1837, Ostrogozhsk – April 6 (O.S. March 24), 1887, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian painter and art critic. He was an intellectual ...

, whose members were realist artists that advocated for more realistic depictions of the everyday life of old Russia. Notable works by Makovsky of this period are ''"The Widow"'' (1865) and ''"The Herringwoman"'' (1867). In 1870 he became a founding member of the '' Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions'' and continued to work on paintings in the realism genre. He went on to travel

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

in the mid-1870s., which resulted in a significant stylistic change as he started putting greater emphasis on colours and shapes. At the World's Fair of 1889 in Paris, he received the Large Gold Medal for his paintings ''Death of Ivan the Terrible'', ''The Judgement of Paris'', and ''Demon and Tamara''. By the end of the century, Makovsky was one of the most respected and highly-paid Russian artists, regarded by some critics as the forerunner of Russian

impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passa ...

. He died in 1915 when his crew crashed into a tram on the streets of St. Petersburg.

Artist's style

The artist's painterly style has the features of several styles. Having left school and being a representative of academism, he demonstrated some of the qualities which would be most clearly shown in the work of the Russian Impressionists. In addition, some of his historical paintings, such as Bride-show (1889), show an idealised view of life in Russia in previous eras.

Artworks

File:A Boyar Wedding Feast (Konstantin Makovsky, 1883) Google Cultural Institute.jpg,

A Boyar Wedding Feast ''A Boyar Wedding Feast'' was painted in 1883 by Russian artist Konstantin Makovsky (1839–1915). The painting shows a toast at a wedding feast following a boyar marriage, where the bride and the groom are expected to kiss each other. The bri ...

File:Konstantin Makovsky - The Bulgarian martyresses.jpg, The Bulgarian martyresses File:MakovskiyKE PocelObry.jpg, Kissing Ceremony File:The Russian Bride's Attire - Konstantin Makovsky.jpg, Beneath the Crown/The Russian Bride's Attire/Before the Wedding File:Konstantin Makovsky - Escogiendo la novia.jpg, Bride-show File:Konstantin Makovsky, The Murder of False Dmitry.jpg, The Murder of False Dmitry File:Konstantin Makovsky - The Toilet of Venus, 1910.jpg, The Toilet of Venus File:Happy Arcadia by Konstantin Makovsky.jpg, Happy Arcadia File:Konstantin Makovsky - The Judgment of Paris, 1889.jpg, The Judgement of Paris File:Konstantin Makovsky-Self-Portrait-1856.jpg, Self-Portrait, c. 1856 File:S.L.Stroganova by K.Makovsky (1864).jpg, Portrait of S. L. Stroganova File:Sergei Stroganov by Konstantin Makovsky.jpg, Portrait of Sergei Stroganov File:Konstantin Makovsky Nikolay-Muravyov-Amursky 1863.jpg, Portrait of Muraviev-Amursky File:Alexander II of Russia by K.Makovskiy (1881, GTG).jpg, Tsar Alexander II Svyatochniye gadaniya by K.Makovskiy (c.1905, Atheism museum).jpg, '' Christmastide Divination''. Historic paintings of Russian peasant life made Konstantin Makovsky popular in Russia MakovskiyKE PtDetHudozhTVER.jpg, ''Children of the Artist'', 1882 Makovsky Ophelia.jpg, ''Ophelia''

References

External links

Biography on site Hrono.ru

Biography on site gelos.ru

Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Makovsky, Konstantin 1839 births 1915 deaths Artists from Moscow People from Moskovsky Uyezd Peredvizhniki 19th-century painters from the Russian Empire 20th-century Russian painters Orientalist painters Russian portrait painters Russian male painters Imperial Academy of Arts alumni Full Members of the Imperial Academy of Arts Burials at Nikolskoe Cemetery 19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire 20th-century Russian male artists Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture alumni Residents of the Benois House

Biography

Artist's style

Artworks

See also

References

External links