Self-Portrait 1856

Konstantin Makovsky created this self-portrait in oils, sometime in the mid-19th century. It captures the image of the artist as a sensitive, intelligent, perhaps even Byronic figure. Makovsky's work reflected a changing Russia, caught between tradition and modernity, and between Slavophile and Westernising tendencies. Here, the artist’s slightly dishevelled appearance and piercing gaze signal the Romantic idea of the artist as a figure set apart. But we might also read his attire – the open-necked shirt and dark jacket – as a deliberate challenge to the strict dress codes enforced by the Russian Academy of Arts. To really understand Makovsky, we need to look at the social and institutional context in which he worked; in other words, the institutions of art. Archival material and contemporary critical writing help us to understand the complex cultural forces that shaped not only the artist’s life, but also the meanings of his works.