Usually, the painting's belonging to the everyday genre speaks more about the seriousness of the plot than about its humorous character, but Pavel Fedotov created his own niche in Russian art, in which he combined genre painting, his own observation and wit.
The painting "Major Matchmaking" earned him the title of academician, public recognition and love of the public. Fedotov was ranked with such social portraitists as Ivan Krylov, Nikolai Gogol and Alexander Ostrovsky. Contemporaries and art historians called his style not just everyday painting, but critical romanticism or comic realism.
Everyday genre in painting
Household sketches are a painting genre that depicts daily, routine actions or moments of life that characterize a certain class of people and their cultural affiliation.
The first everyday sketches can be considered elements of cave painting, which depicted scenes of hunting or the daily lives of ancient people. Later there were images on Egyptian papyrus and ancient Greek frescoes on which the life of these peoples was imprinted. However, as a separate genre of painting, household sketches began to take shape in the era of late feudalism and the New Age.
With the growth of democratic values and the improvement of living standards, the household genre began to gain more and more popularity among artists. Even in Renaissance Europe, paintings on a household theme began to come out from under the brush of Giotto, Van Eyck and El Greco, then Bruegel, Vermeer, Rubens and Velazquez continued the trend.
Russian genre painting and domestic plots of Russian artists
The domestic genre in Russia became widespread in the middle of the XIX century. Artists focused on the life of peasants and their brutal oppression. The life of the merchants and the nobility was much less likely to become the subject of the image. A particularly important period in the development of genre Russian painting was the era of the Wanderers.
In Russian art, vivid representatives of the domestic genre are Repin, Serov, Vereshchagin and Venetians. Pavel Fedotov discovered a new style not only in Russian painting as a whole, but also in everyday life in honesty. His comedic approach to everyday sketches made Fedotov a favorite of the public, and the painting “Major Matchmaking” became the pearl of the 1848 academic exhibition.
Author Biography
Pavel Fedotov came from an impoverished family of titular adviser. He began drawing in the cadet corps, and during military service in the Life Guards he began to take painting lessons at the Academy of Arts.
Fedotov had a keen eye that noted the subtle characteristic features of people and the features of their behavior, so his portraits possessed not only high similarity, but also a unique character. During the service, painting for Fedotov remained a favorite pastime, however, due to constrained financial circumstances, he could not give up service and devote himself to art.
A turning point in the artist’s life was a meeting with Grand Duke Mikhail and subsequently with his brother, Emperor Nicholas I, who was astounded by the talent of the young officer and granted him the right to voluntarily dismiss from service and upkeep so that Fedotov could seriously engage in painting.
History of the painting
The newly minted artist was thinking of becoming a battle painter, since during the time of Nicholas I battle scenes were a huge commercial success. The first paintings by Fedotov depicted scenes of battles, raids and barracks life.
Despite the choice made, the artist continued to sketch his everyday observations and paint comic portraits. Some of these sketches were written based on the fables of Ivan Krylov. Upon seeing them, the fabulist advised Fedotov to engage in genre painting, paying particular attention to the observant, wit and technical accuracy of the artist. After Krylov’s laudatory words, Fedotov wrote two everyday plots - “The Legible Bride” (based on the motive of Krylov’s fable) and “Fresh Knight”.
Also, Fedotov drew a lot of sketches, one of which was destined to become the painting "Matchmaking of the Major." The description of the painting “The Legible Bride” has already secured the artist’s reputation as an innovator, however, Fedotov’s career was further developed after meeting Briullov.
Seeing the finished paintings, Karl Bryullov persuaded the Academy Council to nominate Fedotov to the title of academician and allocate content to him. At the exhibition of 1848, the artist exhibited his new canvas. “Major’s Matchmaking” - a picture that made an unexpected sensation and shook the stiff Petersburg audience, making them ride with laughter. According to the results of the exhibition, the council unanimously awarded Fedotov the title of academician.
Description of the painting by P. Fedotov “Matchmaking of the Major”
The Canvas of Major Major’s canvas portrays and ridicules merchant ambitions and inept window dressing with amazing accuracy. With his subtle wit, Fedotov portrays typical characters for the action and endows them with accurate characteristics, while not hyperbolizing at all.
As a result, the viewer sees a freeze-frame from the life of the merchants - a passage room, a hastily assembled table, the owner of the house dressed up out of place and embarrassed by a new frock coat, and the hero of the occasion, the bridegroom, phlegmatically twists the mustache behind the door.
Before the exhibition, Fedotov wrote a humorous poem about the plot of the work “Major Matchmaking”. The description of the picture in poetic form names all the heroes of the canvas and explains their mood and behavior. Based on what Fedotov wrote, the major who had reached the noble rank and resigned was looking for a profitable marriage, since the pension was too small.
The bride’s family are bright representatives of the wealthy merchants who strive to get into the noble society with all their might. It would seem that there is little comic in this situation, however, the author was able to teach the characters' characters in such a way that the picture is filled with humor and malicious ridicule.
Comedy Elements
The audience fell in love with the painting “Major Matchmaking” for its subtle wit and clearly noted minor misunderstandings, among them:
- The groom’s unpreparedness and his apparent ignorance of noble standards.
- Excessive preparation of the merchant family and their inept efforts to comply with these standards.
Description of Fedotov’s painting “The Matchmaking of the Major” introduces the retired major, who received the title of a nobleman and seeks a richer bride, but with simple blood, which affects his preparation for the bride's bride:
- matchmaking takes place on a fasting day, judging by the set table and the dish with the coulibia;
- the major appeared without a bouquet for the bride;
- The major chose the matchmaker from the common people, judging by her ceremonial dressing room.
The desire to get into the noble society was characteristic of many wealthy and influential merchants, this explains the inept imitation of the norms of behavior at court. The painting “Major’s Matchmaking” depicts a merchant family trying to marry a daughter to a nobleman, while the room and the merchants themselves look extremely comical:
- the room in which the action takes place is the front and not the living room or dining room, which does not correspond to etiquette;
- the tablecloth on which the table is laid is not intended for eating, but should perform a decorative function in cabinets or boudoirs;
- the set table is too small for so many snacks;
- in the front there are many unnecessary characters - a cook, hastily setting the table, a sider and a graft, which has no place in the room;
- evening ballroom dresses of the merchant and daughter do not correspond to any occasion or time of day;
- Accessories for mother and daughter dresses (scarves) are not chosen according to etiquette.
Despite the sharp humor with which the artist wrote his characters, Fedotov’s painting “The Matchmaking of the Major” does not convey an atmosphere of malice and ridicule. Quite the contrary - she convinces the audience to accept the heroes as they are.
P. Fedotov's painting “Major Matchmaking”: An Analysis from a Historical Point of View
The process of preparing the picture took a very long time. Pavel Fedotov spent a long time looking for the right room and the right characters. Many contemporaries and critics noted the historical accuracy of the painting and its belonging to its time.
Fedotov spent many weeks looking for a room, asking for merchant houses, until he found the perfect front in one of the taverns. Then went through the laborious search for the right sitters and rooting. The artist invited one of his colleagues to the role of major, and he rewrote the figure of his father several times to show the unusualness of his frock coat compared to the Armenian.
“The matchmaking of a major” is a picture almost completely written off by Fedotov’s efforts. The room itself, characters, accessories, even paintings and portraits on the walls are authentic, historically loyal and most fully reveal the character of the merchants and the action of matchmaking.