Vladimir Makovsky, master of social painting

Vladimir Makovsky (26th January, 1846 – 21st February 1920) was a brilliant painter and a true master of genre art. He was born and raised in Moscow in an artistic family. His brother Konstantin Makovsky and father Egor Makovsky were also eminent Russian painters. / The Doctor’s Waiting Room, 1870.

Vladimir Makovsky has his own special style. He pays attention to social scenes, showing detailed ordinary life. / Making Jam, 1876.

Thanks to his empathy and attentive eye for detail, the artist captured his subjects' feelings and emotions on the canvas. / The Collapse of a Bank, 1881.

From the late 1880s, Makovsky began to produce gloomier works. / I Won’t Let You In, 1892.

The First Coat, 1892.

Nuptial Crown (Farewell), 1894.

Two Mothers. Native Mother and Stepmother, 1906.

Without a Master, 1911.

Empress Maria Feodorovna, Gatchina Palace, 1912. Maria Feodorovna (1847 –1928), christened Dagmar, was a Danish princess who became Empress of Russia as the spouse of Emperor Alexander III of Russia.

Self-portrait, 1905. As well as being a brilliant painter, Vladimir Makovsky was an art professor, a graphic artist, and a member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Art.

Fans of Nightingales, 1873. After this work Vladimir Makovsky was honored as a member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Art. Fyodor Dostoevsky was impressed: “These diminutive paintings, in my view, express love for humanity — not only Russian, but humanity in general.”

Fair (Little Russia series), 1885. The original was sold at a Bonham’s auction in 2012 for £1.5-2m.