Konstantin Egorovich Makovsky, 1839-1915

Orientalism was an aspect of Romantic escapism that continued to thrive long after the end of the Romantic movement. While Oriental subjects have appeared in Western art since the Renaissance, Orientalist works from the nineteenth century differ from those of earlier periods in their emphasis on documentation.  Although Paris was the unquestioned capital of Orientalism in the nineteenth century, painters throughout the whole of Europe employed Orientalist subjects into their works. Towards the end of the nineteenth century numerous foreign Orientalists established their relationship with the French school by studying under Léon Gérôme (1814-1904) and other leading masters. Sometimes they settled in Paris and were regularly well received at the Salon.

Konstantin Makvosky made his debut at the Paris Salon in 1878 and was soon granted the right to display his paintngs without approval by jury. He was an artist of European stature both in his mastery of technique as well as his creative principles and discovered much for himself at exhibitions in the Paris Salon.  A visit to Cairo in 1873 marked an important point in Makovsky’s creative development.  Fascinated by the colourful mystery of the East, he produced a number of Orientalist paintings. The most important work is the monumental Transportation of the Holy Carpet from Mecca to Cairo (Fig.1) which hangs in the Russian Museum, St. Petersburg. Painted in Paris in 1876 one can see how Makovsky embraces the painterly freedom introduced by French artists. The entire painting is executed in the manner of a huge, thoroughly painted sketch. The offered lot, In the Classroom, shows the same painterly qualities. Whilst some of the architectural structures are depicted in a sketchy manner, others seem carved with a chisel. Similarly, only a few figures in the composition stand out through very careful characterisation, most notably the boy on the stairs and the teacher. The complex composition is, however, successfully united by its tonality. In the Classroom is an important Orientalist work by Konstantin Makovsky and paintings of this subject matter and quality rarely appear on the market.