1775
oil on canvas
60 x 47.8

Vasily Ivanovich Maikov (1728–1778) was a poet and author of satirical and morally uplifting works. He began his career in the Life Guards of the Semenovsky Regiment, but was discharged “for laziness.” Later he was close to the group of literary personalities around the Classicist writer M.M. Kheraskov. V.I. Maikov’s best work was the poem Elysée, or the Irritated Bacchus, in which a satirical exposé was combined with a parody of mores of the urban poor. Pushkin was delighted with the poem. Maikov was drawn to Freemasonry and he began to compose educational and morally uplifting odes and to transpose psalms calling for moral improvement. V.I. Maikov is depicted in the uniform of a brigadier. The portrait was drawn with splendid and rich brush strokes. The depiction seems to be filled with an indistinct light that smooths out the contours and the tonal and colour contrasts. This creates the sensation of a warm, golden milieu in which the figure of the hero is immersed.

at 10, Lavrushinsky Lane, Hall 4