“Matchmaking Major” – the central product of the mature period in the work of the master. It revealed the principles of his art, his method and skill. For him, Fedotov was awarded the title of academician.
The plot of the picture can be expressed by the first phrase from the description made by the artist himself: “In the merchant’s house the matchmaker leads the major groom.”
However, of all the characters in the picture, the groom himself is least interested in the artist. He is depicted in the background, as a figure, needed only to explain the reason for the commotion in the merchant’s house.
The rest of the picture’s character is divided into groups, each of which develops its plot-like line within the theme of the picture. In the center of the composition is the fleeing bride and mama trying to hold her.
The interaction of these characters – one of the main lines of development of the plot. Obeying the will of the artist, the viewer moves from the character to the character, all of them are connected by a gesture or pose.
Thus, a kind of “composition of movement” is created. The very method of grouping actors is a new technique for Russian genre painting. The artist so has a room and characters that the viewer creates an involuntary feeling that he looked through the window and saw a commotion reigning in the merchant’s house.
“Matchmaking” came to us in two versions. Another option is in the Tretyakov Gallery Fedotov revised the repetition of his picture. Despite the fact that the picture is small in size, it is very thorough for finishing.
As an explanation to “Matchmaking Major” Fedotov written poetic work – the famous “Raceya.”
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