Konstantin Yegorovich Makovsky (Russian: КонстантинЕгорович Маковский; June 20 [O.S. July 2] 1839 —September 17 [O.S. September 30] 1915) was an influentialRussian painter, affiliated with the "Peredvizhniki (Wanderers)". Many of his historical paintings, such as TheRussian Brides Attire (1889), showed an idealized view ofRussian life of prior centuries. He is often considered arepresentative of a Salon art. Konstantin was born in Moscow as the older son of a Russian art figure and amateur painter, Yegor Ivanovich Makovsky. His mother was a music composer, and hoped her son would one day follow in her footsteps. In 1851 Konstantin entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture where he became the top student, easily getting all the available awards. His teachers were МM.I. Skotty, pupils of Karl Briullov. Makovskys inclinations to Romanticism and decorative effects can be explained by the influence of Briullov.
Although art was his passion, he also considered what hismother had wanted him to do. He set off to look forcomposers he could refer to, and first went to France.Before, he had always been a classical music lover, andlistened to many pieces. He often wished he could changethe tune, or style of some of them to make them moreenjoyable. Later in his life, it came true.In 1858 Makovsky entered the Imperial Academy of Arts inSaint Petersburg. From 1860 he participated in theexhibitions of Academia with paintings such as Curing ofthe Blind (1860) and Agents of the False Dmitry kill the sonof Boris Godunov (1862). In 1863 Makovsky, together withthe other 13 students eligible to participate in thecompetition for the Large Gold Medal of Academia, refusedto paint on the set topic in Scandinavian mythology andinstead left Academia without a formal diploma.
Makovsky became a member of a co-operative (artel) of artists led byIvan Kramskoi, typically producing Wanderers paintings on everydaylife (Widow 1865, Herring-seller 1867, etc.). From 1870 he was afounding member of the Society for Traveling Art Exhibitions andcontinued to work on paintings devoted to everyday life. He exhibitedhis works on both the Academia exhibitions and the Traveling ArtExhibitions of the Wanderers.A significant change in his style occurred after traveling to Egypt andSerbia in the mid-1870s. His interests changed from social andpsychological problems to the artistic problems of colors and shape.In the 1880s he became a fashioned author of portraits and historicalpaintings. At the Worlds Fair of 1889 in Paris he received the LargeGold Medal for his paintings Death of Ivan the Terrible, The Judgementof Paris, and Demon and Tamara. He was one of the most highlyappreciated and highly paid Russian artists of the time. Manydemocratic critics considered him as a renegade of the Wanderersideals, producing (like Henryk Siemiradzki) striking but shallow works,while others see him as a forerunner of Russian Impressionism.Makovsky became a victim of a road accident (his horse-driven carriagewas hit by an electric tram) and died in 1915 in Saint Petersburg.