Parting 1872

Alexei Korzukhin painted this image of a family farewell in Russia sometime in the 19th century. Here we see the emotional heart of a traditional patriarchal family about to be disrupted. The son, dressed in military uniform, is leaving home. His mother clutches at him anxiously, while his father sits impassively by. Even the grandmother looks on with concern. The family is gathered around a samovar, the traditional centerpiece of Russian domestic life, which suggests that they are members of the merchant class, a rising force in Russian society at this time. These were the people who were empowered by a modernizing economy, but who were also deeply invested in traditional values. Korzukhin was committed to representing the lives of ordinary Russians and challenging the dominance of academic art. To understand the image more fully, we might consider the impact of military service on Russian families at the time. We could also research the artist’s involvement with the progressive movement in Russian art. The meaning of art is always contingent on such contexts.