Ivan Kuzmich MAKAROV (Nijni-Novgorod 1822 - Saint-Pétersbourg... Lot n° 82

Portrait of the painter Feodor Petrovich Choumakoff (1823-1911), ca. 1850 Original oil on canvas. Signed on the back in Russian F. P. Tchoumakoff painted in 1850 / Iv. Kuz. Makarov. Gilded wood frame. 65 x 54 cm Historical background: Ivan Kuzmich Makarov is one of the great Russian portrait painters of the 19th century, described by some of his contemporaries as the worthy successor to Karl Brulliov. After training at the Imperial Academy, Makarov devoted his entire career to the art of portraiture. From the academic portrait to the chamber portrait, including children's portraits, which he was particularly fond of, he became a very popular portraitist of the high society of Petersburg, and in particular the favorite artist of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, of whom we know two superb ceremonial portraits. The rediscovery of the portrait of the painter F. P. Tchoumakoff adds to the corpus of the artist, his production being estimated at about 200 portraits only, most of which are kept in the collections of Russian museums. The presence of our painting in France can be explained by the fact that Tchoumakoff left Russia in 1857 to settle permanently in Paris. Until now, the only other known portrait of Feodor Choumakoff was his self-portrait painted in 1850 and kept in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.