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TITLE:
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Peasant Children (SOLD)
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WORK DATE:
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circa 1870
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CATEGORY:
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Paintings
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MATERIALS:
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Oil on canvas attached to board
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MARKINGS:
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Signed bottom right "C.Makowsky"
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SIZE:
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h: 37 x w: 45 cm / h: 14.6 x w: 17.7 in
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REGION:
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Russian
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PRICE:
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Sold
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DESCRIPTION:
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Certificate of Authenticity from: State Russian Museum
Konstantin Egorovich Makovsky lived a long and happy life. He early determined his way in art, made a successful career in a single-minded manner, married the most beautiful woman in St Petersburg and was treated with affection by the Emperor. Contemporaries called him Russian Rubens and Van Dyck. He was envied for his talent and prominent position in the art world, his wealth and glory and had undoubtedly every reason to assert that “… life is so beautiful when you take it well in hand!”
He was born in Moscow in 1839 in the family of E.I. Makovsky, one of the founders of the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. His brother V.E. Makovsky also became a renowned artist. In 1851-1858 Makovsky attended the studio of S. Zaryanko in the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, and later the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts (1858–1863) where in 1962 he was awarded with the Golden medal. Upon graduation from the Academy – as one of the most talented pupils – he began to work independently being never short of clients.
Makovsky regularly contributed to academic exhibitions. In the 1867 for a number of brilliant works a title of Academician was granted to him and in 1869 he became a professor. In 1875 Makovsky married Yulia Letkova and the young couple left for Paris where they met a circle f Russian artists including A.Bogoliubov, A.Harlamoff, Y.Leman, K.Savitsky, V.Polenov, I.Repin, I.Pokhitonov and others, frequently visited the salon of the celebrated singer Pauline Viardot where he met Ivan Turgenev. He travelled widely, frequently moving between Paris and St Petersburg, travelled extensively around Russian provincial regions. In 1876 he visited the Middle East including Egypt, later spent about three months making sketches in the Balkans following the army advancing to Serbia and Bulgaria, lived and worked in St. Petersburg, Moscow and Paris.
In the 1870s – the period of the flowering of the genre painting in Russia – Makovsky, like many of his contemporaries, was infatuated with the everyday life of Russian peasantry. Idealizing it the artist shows the peasant labour in a poetic and romanticised way. This period in Makovsky’s career is characterized by a large number of important works. Among them is the popular “Children running away from thunderstorm” (1872) from the State Tretyakov Gallery and many others. Masterful hand, vivid colour palette and expressive characters are typical for all Makovsky’s works of the period. These features can be undoubtedly found in the “Peasant Children” painting as well.
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PROVENANCE:
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According to E. Nesterova, Doctor of Arts, Professor, an art expert of the State Russian Museum and the author of K. Makovsky monograph, the painting entitled by the author as Children in the harvest field belonged to the private collection of Von Dervis and was mentioned under No. 152 in the list of Makovsky’s works by F. Boulgakov, the author of the lifetime monograph about the artist.
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