On May 27, 2024, the exhibition 'Viktor Makeev. On the Line of the Century' opened at the Museum-Panorama 'The Battle of Borodino', on the occasion of the centenary of People's Artist of the Russian Federation Viktor Ivanovich Makeev.
Viktor Makeev was born in 1924. In 1941 he graduated from the Children's Art School attached to the Art College of 1905. At 18 he became a cadet at the Vladimir Infantry School and was sent straight to the front. In November 1943 he suffered a serious wound. The war had a profound influence on the formation of the artist's personality and determined the spiritual content of his art. After demobilization, Viktor Ivanovich continued his studies and in 1956 graduated from the Moscow State Institute named after V.I. Surikov.
Viktor Makeev's works are held in the collections of many Russian museums, including the State Tretyakov Gallery, as well as in private collections in Germany, the United States, France, Japan and the United Kingdom.
The anniversary exhibition presents about 70 paintings and graphic works by Viktor Makeev from various years, allowing visitors to become acquainted with the multifaceted oeuvre of the master and his innovative approach to different genres of visual art.
The exhibition 'Viktor Makeev. On the Line of the Century' is a story about war and peace, about the past and the present. About life in all its manifestations. About love for beauty, the Motherland and ordinary people.
The artist's early works are poetic landscapes that praise the beauty of Russian nature and the ancient towns of Kaluga and Torzhok. Later the artist turned to book illustration. The exhibition includes a series of illustrations for the documentary novella by L. Savelev, 'Pavlov's House', from the collection of the Museum-Panorama 'The Battle of Borodino'.
Over time the artist's striking individuality becomes ever more apparent. The master works in the genre of easel painting and seeks new forms. Viktor Makeev moves away from genre and everyday scenes and creates works with deep philosophical content, among them the large-scale canvases 'The Fallen City', 'In Memory of Father', 'Apocalypse'.
'Here, in a single hall, Viktor Makeev's work is presented in the full variety of genres and techniques. From a pencil drawing made by Viktor Ivanovich at the age of thirteen in 1937, to one of his last paintings from 2020,' noted Irina Alexeyevna Nikolaeva, the artist's wife. 'Who is he? A realist, a symbolist, an avant-gardist... I believe he is an artist who is constantly searching for new artistic forms.'
