Portraits of Contemporaries

Sergey Makovsky was a Russian poet, art critic, and organizer of art exhibitions, as well as a publisher and the son of the famous Russian artist Konstantin Yegorovich Makovsky. He studied at the Alexandrovsky Lyceum and graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Saint Petersburg University. Makovsky’s first publication was an article titled "V.M. Vasnetsov and the Vladimir Cathedral" in the journal "Mir bozhi" (God’s World). A few years later, his first "Collected Poems" was published. At the same time, Makovsky founded the art magazine "Apollo" in Saint Petersburg, which became one of the centers of artistic and literary life. For the work in this new publication, Makovsky managed to attract many well-known Russian writers, in particular I. F. Annensky, Vyach. I. Ivanov, M.A. Kuzmin, N. S. Gumilyov, and others. The magazine was the successor of "Mir Iskusstva" (World of Art). Makovsky proved himself not only as a successful publisher, but also as an art historian, poet, exhibition organizer, and art critic. In the book "Portraits of Contemporaries," you’ll find Sergey Konstantinovich’s recollections of remarkable people he had the chance to meet—people who are a source of pride for Russian literature and art: V. Solovyov, F. Chaliapin, S. Dyagilev, and many others.