“Family section”, Vasily Maksimovich Maximov – overview of the painting 
- Posted by Vasily Maksimovich Maximov
- Museum: Tretyakov Gallery
- Year: 1876
Overview of the painting :
Family section – Vasily Maksimovich Maximov. Oil on canvas. 148 x 106 cm
Vasily Maksimovich Maximov is a famous Russian artist, a mobile artist, a realist who devoted his whole life to the peasant genre. He had a deep knowledge of village life, because he himself was from a simple family of peasants. He knows from childhood their life, rites and way of life. The picture “Family Section” very realistically shows the difficult moment of the division of not only property, but also families.
At first glance on the canvas you feel the whole intensity of passions that occurs when sharing property between two brothers. Yes, this happened and happens in any society, anytime. But the moment captured by Maximov takes place in a difficult period of the late 19th century. After the abolition of serfdom, the patriarchal, folded over the years lifestyle of the village begins to change. Once, friendly peasant communities and families break up, not withstanding new changes and difficulties.
Before us is such a family. When you carefully consider, you understand that this is not even a ginger, but the robbery of a younger brother by an elder. Clothing, fur coats, fabrics, horse harness details and many other things are piled all over the room.
The eldest daughter-in-law is simply the embodiment of anger and greed. She spread her arms and even crushed a piece of some canvas with her foot to grab more things and simple peasant utensils.
In contrast to her – the youngest daughter-in-law, bewildered and defenseless. He and her husband got a kettle and a couple of rolls of fabric. Due to the white canvas that in her hands, the last argument seems to have flared up.
Some relatives are present right there, but they are on the sidelines, no longer trying to reconcile the parties. In the red corner, the artist depicts an icon with a burning candle. Perhaps the author wanted to draw the attention of the dispatchers to the fact that one must be kinder, show mercy, and not humiliate others. But all this is in vain. The thirst for profit and self-interest are stronger. The section has already been completed.
A work saturated with emotions received a great response in the creative environment, it was properly appreciated by contemporaries.