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In the artist's Studio (the Little thief)

Konstantin Makovsky • Painting, 1881, 212.4×155 cm
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About the artwork
Art form: Painting
Subject and objects: Still life, Genre scene
Style of art: Romanticism
Technique: Oil
Materials: Canvas
Date of creation: 1881
Size: 212.4×155 cm
Artwork in selections: 39 selections

Description of the artwork «In the artist's Studio (the Little thief)»

"A little thief" written with his son, Konstantin Makovsky, Seryozha climbed up to the artist's Studio. About this workshop should be discussed separately. Konstantin Makovsky was obsessed with a passion for collecting Antiques. And stored them in the workshop. Sergei Makovsky wrote in his memoirs that the boy loved to be in his father's workshop – it was a door to the unknown, but very attractive world. On the walls hung paintings, arms hung down heavy fabrics in the room you could see a lot of jewelry (entourage for images of Russian antiquity).

All that we see in the picture: antique chair, heavy embroidered brocade on the wall hangs a sword, on the floor big pot of brushes. Everything here speaks of luxury and even a degree of redundancy that fits into the concept of the Baroque wonder Makovsky called "the Russian Rubens." Pictures of children illustrate this analogy (this painting by Rubens and Makovsky and more Rubens - Makovsky, 1, 2).

The plot is inspired by real incident as it went into the workshop of the father, climbed up on a chair, looked around and spotted a very appetizing Apple in the vase, reached out to him. Huge dog on the floor was not accidental. Sergei Makovsky recalled that it was not their dog. When dad decided to paint, he found a Saint Bernard, perfectly suited to the situation, and it brought to sessions. Contrast the size of baby and dog gives the picture a special touch. A dog is a great detail – tangled folds on the carpet.

Elements of movement – also the signs of the Baroque style. Here is not only the folds of the carpet, but also the movement of the boy, leaning on one leg, and the second lifted to slightly "extend" the abilities of the producer of the apples and falling from his shoulder the white slip, and plump hand of the child reaching the tasty target, and hanging from the edge of the dish grapes, and sliding the pleats embroidered with gold thread fabric.

Author: Alain Esaulova
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