Vladimir Makovsky – an unsurpassed master of painting, who had no equal in writing pictures of the domestic genre. A rare artist could depict the everyday life of ordinary people on his canvases with the same precision and subtle psychologism. Merchants and nobles, officials and artisans, peasants, workers and vagrants – they all appear unvarnished before the audience, and sometimes not from the best side. So, through painting, Makovsky showed the true truth of life, ridiculing vices, despising for deeds.
In the heyday of the artist’s work, the painting The Collapse of the Bank was painted. The plot of the canvas is based on a real historical fact – the ruin of a private Moscow Loan Bank. As a result of numerous commercial frauds in the mid-1870s. The clients of this bank – mainly, representatives of the middle class – have lost almost all their savings. Makovsky captured the episode when deceived investors, hoping to get at least part of their funds, rush into the bank. Their faces are full of amazement and indignation left without money; they still cannot fully believe what happened.
Makovsky with incredible psychological accuracy was able to show a whole gallery of unique types and characters. In postures, gestures, facial expressions of the audience, different reactions to the same event open up. One is loudly indignant and wants to know what to do next, the other, darkly dejected, went into himself, overwhelmed by the loss of livelihood. The elderly woman, unable to bear the deceit, falls unconscious, the agitated wealthy lady grabs the gendarme’s hand, as if summoning him to sort things out. Each of them is helpless in this situation, and only one bank employee, waiting for a big sum, happily rubs his hands.
A major role is played by the palette of work chosen by the artist. The coloring of the picture is cold, with a predominance of black, blue and gray colors, soft and dull. Such tones allow you to show poses and faces more expressive.
The painting “The collapse of the bank” was a picturesque expression of sympathy and compassion for deceived people. Written more than a century ago, it still does not lose its relevance, does not just show the past, but calls for you to reflect on the present and the future.
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