Lot 326: Vladimir Egorovich Makovsky , At the Bar

signed in Cyrillic and dated 1893 (lower right); also numbered 5 (on the reverse) oil on panel

measurements 14 by 10 1/2 in. alternate measurements 35.6 by 26.7 cm

Private collection, Philadelphia, circa 1930
Thence by descent

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, USA

Vladimir Makovsky, younger brother of Konstantin Makovsky, was a prominent member of the Peredvizhniki (Wanderers) and a master of the genre scene. A devout populist, he used his paintings to call attention to the social inequalities of late-nineteenth-century Russian society. Perceiving nuanced visual cues of the human character, he depicted hermetic narratives through the simplest combinations of gestures.

In At the Bar, Makovsky's inimitable skill in genre painting is at its greatest height. Whereas Makovsky's typical scenes of daily life reveal the dysfunction of the Russian society he knew, At the Bar belongs to his mature 'urban novellas,' an extensive series of urban depictions that offers a gentler criticism of human nature. The present lot is one of Makovsky's most accomplished two-figure narratives, in which each protagonist's role is left up to the viewer to piece together. Here, Makovsky offers us a glimpse of a moment between friends at a bar. He captures the calm, drunken ease of the situation in the warm, laughter-crinkled face of the man lighting a cigarette, as the seated figure appears lost in his own uncertain thoughts; the stack of books at his feet suggests he is an academic.

It is its precision and its inclusion of the smallest details that make this masterpiece so intriguing. The slight bend in the knees of the standing man, the fallen wisps of hair across the forehead of the slightly slumped seated figure, the hat balanced carefully on top of the books--each detail contributes to the overall feeling of life and warmth. The canvas seems to welcome the viewer to look upon the pair, not just as an outsider, but also as an intimate participant in this commonplace scene of everyday Russia.