Klavdiy Lebedev created the painting, ‘Matchmaking, ” in the 1880s. In the painting he portrayed how men made proposals of marriage to women in the 17th century. The artist portrayed a rich man in his burgundy clothing, trimmed with fur. The matchmaker is courteously speaking with the woman in the fur coat and hat. The characters are in the room — It is obvious that their warm clothes are necessary in order to display their material wealth rather than protect them from the cold. Evidently, the older party is negotiating the fate of the girl standing nearby. The bride to be is calmly holding a tray with a teapot in her hands. She is apprehensively looking down at the toe of her shoes. This is how women were supposed to behave in public when meeting with matchmakers in the 17th century. 

KlavdiyLebedev lived from 1852 to 1916. He became famous for his paintings on historical, religious and everyday themes. The artist went to a very good academic school: his teachers were Vasiliy Perov, the artist behind the famous painting ‘Troika, ” and Yevgraf Sorokin, who was a historical artist.

Towards the end of the 19th century the popularity of historical art began to rise in Russia. Klavdiy Lebedev often created paintings with stories from the lives of princes and boyars. The artist accurately painted human figures and meticulously displayed minute details of historical costumes in his paintings. He was captivated by the bright colors of old Russian life, colorful outfits, architecture of old Russian cities and the daring characteristics of people from the distant past. His works were not only distinguished because of his high artistic ability, but also because of their historical accuracy. The artist left behind a plethora of paintings and watercolors with historical references from the 10th to 17th centuries.

Klavdiy Lebedev illustrated Russian tales, and collaborated with magazines such as Picturesque Review, World Illustration, and Niva. It is known that he contributed to the production of the series of books “Grand Duke”s, Tsar”s and Emperor”s Hunting in Russia, ” and worked as a staff artist at the publishing house of Ivan Sytin. At the beginning of the 20th century, he illustrated pictures from the Bible based on the moral stories of the Old Testament. In 1897 Klavdiy Lebedev was awarded the title of academician for painting.