How Russian artist Makovsky painted a portrait of the US president and opened the “Russian style” to Americans

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Western world discovered the Russian style. Sundresses, kokoshniks, furs and precious fabrics, boyars and feasts – this is exactly the kind of Russia that the great Russian artist Konstantin Makovsky showed the Americans on his canvases. The success of the “Russian Rubens” in America was so great that Konstantin Egorovich in 1901 decided to visit the New World. During this trip, the craftsmen were invited to paint a portrait of US President Theodore Roosevelt.

The conventional wisdom that talent should be hungry was clearly not related to Konstantin Egorovich Makovsky. At the end of the 19th century, he was probably one of the most successful and sought-after masters in Russia. Given his incredible creative fecundity and high speed, the artist very quickly became one of the best-selling. At the same time, the master was able to show the businessman’s talent. Incredibly raising the prices of his canvases, he undoubtedly won on this. Continue reading →