Vladimir Egorovich Makovsky, 1846-1920

Niva, St. Petersburg, 1895, p.1101 (illustrated);
Zhivopisnoe obozrenie, No.17, 1895;
The Society of Travelling Art Exhibitions 1871-1823: An encyclopaedia, St. Petersburg, 2003, p 113 (illustrated)

Exhibited and published in several contemporary art journals, this fine example of nineteenth century genre painting is one of the most important works by Vladimir Makovsky to come to auction in recent years.

As a regular contributor to the Peredvizhniki exhibitions, Makovsky was instrumental in promoting what was previously considered an inferior branch of the arts as a valuable part of Russia’s artistic heritage.

He chronicled contemporary Russian society at a time of rapid social change, believing that the real Russia was to be found in her traditions and people. Like Pavel Fedotov and Vasily Perov, he looked for his subjects in the city streets and provincial backwaters, depicting familiar situations in an amusing light so that they might offer gentle, instructive criticism.

Rest on the Way from Kiev originates from a series of compositions executed in Ukraine during the 1880s, which mark a visible change in Makovsky’s artistic approach. He appears to disengage from his traditionally critical standpoint and becomes an objective observer of local customs, presenting not only the poverty but also the beauty of provincial life. Works such as Market in Poltava (1882) and Church Service during Holy Week (1886) reveal a deep-seated respect for Ukrainian society, which Makovsky believed to exemplify a genuine democracy .

The offered lot depicts a young provincial woman of modest means offering hospitality to a monk on his return from a pilgrimage. It is likely he is returning from the Monastery of Pechersky on the Dniepr river, considered one of the most important religious sites in Russia.  Given the more traditional objective of genre painting, it is not surprising that contemporary commentator Fedor Bulgakov understood the work in the conventionally critical spirit:

 “An old scrounger is on his way home from a pilgrimage to holy sites and stops off for a rest at a peasant dwelling. Here he receives warm hospitality: he is well fed, given shelter and has the company of an attractive young woman who innocently listens to his stories. So, here is this two-faced pleasure-seeker pretending to be good and honourable, but really trying to woo the attentions of the young hostess” (Niva, 1895, p.1101)

However one important detail suggests that open criticism was not the artist’s intention here. The play on facial expressions, Makovsky’s central tool for generating humour in his art, appears to be missing. The artistic focus seems instead to be the decorative costumes of his sitters and the religious objects on the table, all of which have been rendered in great detail.

This becomes clear when we compare this work with Visiting the poor from 1874 (Fig.1) which shows an act of charity with a very different dynamic. The contrasting reactions of the many protagonists in this inverted fairy tale clearly reveal the wealthy couple’s benevolence as disdainful and completely pointless.

In Rest on the Way from Kiev Makovsky has presented a convivial social exchange between equals, to which his audience would have easily related, illustrating Vladimir Stasov’s remark that Makovsky’s art penetrated to the depths of the Russian soul.