THE EXHIBITION "KONSTANTIN AND VLADIMIR MAKOVSKY.
EARTHLY LOVE AND HEAVENLY LOVE"
3 June – 13 September 2026
Fabergé Museum, St. Petersburg
Press release
"The Link of Times" Cultural and Historical Foundation and the Fabergé Museum, with the support of their long-standing partner Gazprom, present "Konstantin and Vladimir Makovsky: Earthly Love and Heavenly Love", an exhibition devoted to the artistic legacy of two brothers from a celebrated artistic dynasty. Running from 3 June to 13 September 2026, the project marks the 180th anniversary of Vladimir Makovsky's birth.
What makes the exhibition remarkable is its scale: it brings together 168 works by the two brothers — 81 by Konstantin Yegorovich (1839–1915) and 87 by Vladimir Yegorovich (1846–1920) — making it one of the largest Makovsky retrospectives in recent years. The quality of the selection is equally impressive. Most of the works have been lent by 30 state and private museums, alongside pieces from 10 private collections. The project also spans a vast geography, drawing on both well-known and little-known collections from Khabarovsk to Kaliningrad.
A particular highlight is the participation of the State Museum of Arts of the Republic of Uzbekistan: nine paintings by the Makovsky brothers from its collection will go on display in Russia for the first time.
The Fabergé Museum holds several works by Konstantin Makovsky, the most important being the monumental "The Judgement of Paris" — one of the celebrated canvases he created for the 1889 World's Fair in Paris. It will form the compositional centre of the exhibition, which will also feature jewelled boxes with enamel miniatures based on Konstantin Makovsky's works from the museum's collection.
The exhibition's title, "Earthly Love and Heavenly Love", refers to Titian's painting and its meditation on love. Above all, it captures the direction of two equally gifted yet utterly dissimilar artists. Looking at their work, one might think they spoke different languages. One worked in a grand, elevated style, measuring perfection against the gods and heroes of antiquity — with whom he sometimes compared his aristocratic contemporaries. The other sought his subjects in everyday life, drawing inspiration from it and approaching human frailty with understanding and forgiveness. At the same time, the allegory widens the lens: it allows us to speak more broadly of the love of humanity that runs through both brothers' work.
"Konstantin and Vladimir Makovsky: Earthly Love and Heavenly Love" sets out to study and bring to a wider public the artists' legacy — a vivid phenomenon in Russian art of the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Makovsky brothers expanded the boundaries of the genres and subjects they explored, and left their mark on the evolution of Russian art.
Address: 21 Fontanka River Embankment, St. Petersburg (Fabergé Museum)
Opening hours: daily, 10:00–21:00
Exhibition website: makovskys.fabergemuseum.ru