Vladimir Makovsky Painting by Paul Meijering

Realistic painting of Russian painter, art collector and teacher Vladimir Yegorovich Makovsky, painted by artist Paul Meijering. The original painting measures 120 x 90 cm.

Makovsky was the son of collector Egor Ivanovich Makovsky, who was one of the founders of the Moscow Academy of Art. Vladimir had two brothers, Nikolay and Konstantin, and a sister, Alexandra Makovskaya, who were all famous painters. Vladimir studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. He completed his studies in 1869 and became one of the founders of the Association of Travelling Art Exhibitions the following year, where his many years of productive work took him to a leading position.

Makovsky's work was characterised by a perpetual humour, as well as blatant irony and contempt. In the 1970s, his paintings were mostly about the village people. His pictures, "The Grape-juice Seller" (1879), "Fruit-Preserving" (1876) and "The Congratulator" (1878) show several scenes in which the mood is finely conceived and almost laughable. Other works of his such as "The Benefactor" (1874) and "The Convict" (1878) are deeply socially conscious. In these, Makovsky either criticises the aristocracy's false sympathy towards the poor or draws attention to the oppression and persecution by the tsarist gendarmerie.

In 1878, he became an academic, and in the 1980s, during the era of Russian 'democratic' painting, Makovsky produced some of his most prized works. In 1882, he was appointed professor at the Moscow Academy of Art after Vasili Perov's death.