Russian genre painting of the 19th century, especially the Wanderers, widely and objectively illuminated contemporary life, raised serious social, moral and aesthetic issues. The Wanderers created the art that was supposed to tell the truth about life. The paintings of the Wanderers forced to reflect on social issues, to sympathize with those who were unhappy and deprived.
The most significant master of the Wanderers genre painting of the second half of the 19th century was Vladimir Egorovich Makovsky working in the city landscape genre. A unique gift of observation made Makovsky a real chronicler of the Moscow urban environment. Officials and dignitaries, peasants and philistines are shown in a huge variety of characters and plot situations. In paintings depicting dramatic moments, Makovsky focused on the types involved in the story, and not on the event itself. The small painting Waiting for an Audience belongs to the new century not only due to its creation date — 1904, but also because of the way of transmitting life observations, a new artistic language.
Against the background of luxurious murals of old Russian interior with imperial symbols, the artist presents specific types of palace waiting rooms. The brilliant ‘their excellencies’ spend their time in small talks, waiting for an audience. The faces of the dignitaries are so representative that one can assume their portraiture. In the created images there is neither mockery nor cartoonism. The artist, who is sympathetic to the common people he loves, is also lenient to the powerful persons.
In the beginning of the 20th century, Makovsky, being a recognized coryphaeus of routine painting, academician and professor, head of a workshop at the Academy of Arts, nevertheless, did not lose his democratic roots and was sober about the outward signs of his high position in the society. This is evidenced by the case described in the memoirs of Minchenkov: ‘Being a professor, he reached the high ranks and even had to wear some kind of uniform with white trousers, but, according to the rules of the Partnership, he did not wear any insignia, not even a professor’s badge. Once the president of the academy Prince Vladimir jokingly remarked to Makovsky: ‘I guess you are “your excellency” already, and why not in white pants? ’ ‘It happens to me to be like that only in the bedroom, ” answered Vladimir Egorovich, “and besides not always”. The prince assume a dignified air and pronounced meaningfully: “Uh…uh…uh!..”
