“Krestyansky children”, Vladimir Makovsky – overview of the painting 
- Posted by Makovsky Vladimir Egorovich
- Museum: Kharkov Art Museum
- Year: 1890
Overview of the painting :
Peasant children – Vladimir Egorovich Makovsky. Oil on canvas.
Vladimir Makovsky belongs to realist artists. He was part of a community of mobile workers. Makovsky’s work is quite diverse. First of all, he is known as a painter of the domestic genre. His paintings show without embellishment the lives of peasants and workers of the late 19th century.
Often Makovsky traveled in search of new images. Ukraine especially inspired him with its original nationality and picturesque nature. The artist left a lot of work devoted to the Little Russian theme.
In the picture “Krestyan children” we see a Ukrainian village. They live here not richly. The houses are non-casist with typical straw roofs. In the foreground, the artist depicted a group of children. Apparently, this is a village “kindergarten”. The kids have not yet grown up to work on an equal footing with adults, they were left under the supervision of an old woman. Their parents work in the field, so the village looks empty.
Children are multi-age. There are very kids like the one who weeps, sitting without pants on the ground. Another little boy is about to cry next to him. They probably want to go home to moms.
Those older, crashed into groups. The boys on the right are passionate about an interesting conversation. They consider themselves too old to know the little one. Girls attached to their grandmother. One of them is passionate about needlework. Village children were accustomed to hard work early, which accompanied them later all their lives.
The old woman is not sitting idle either. She’s hiding. The woman thought about something, but judging by her face, her thoughts are sad. Chickens roam the yard. Nobody pays attention to them. In the background you can see a young woman with a bucket in a row of shaken houses. It seems that the girl is pregnant, so she stayed at home.
The picture leaves a double impression. On the one hand, we see the poverty of the situation. The plot makes you think about the difficult peasant share. On the other hand, Makovsky portrays young children, cute in his immediacy. The picture is very bright, sunny. A clear blue sky spread over a Ukrainian village. He contrasts with earthy houses and bright greens under his feet. Together creates the effect of a quiet village half a day and gives peace to the viewer.