1844 -1905 · Taganrog, Saint Petersburg, Paris, Peredvizhniki and Penza

Departures of soldiers, peasant crowds and social realism make Konstantin Savitsky a great chronicler of 19th century Russia.

Konstantin Apolloovich Savitsky was born near Taganrog in 1844. Orphaned as a teenager, he nevertheless continued his vocation and entered the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in Saint Petersburg. His studies, his travels in France and his contact with Repin, Shishkin and progressive artists oriented him towards realism attentive to popular life. Savitsky exhibited with the Ambulants, or Peredvizhniki, from the 1870s and became a member of their association. He excelled in composing large collective scenes where each gesture participated in a common social experience. Savitski exhibited with the Ambulants, or Peredvizhniki, from the 1870s and became a member of their association. He excelled in the composition of large collective scenes where each gesture participated in a common social experience. Savitski exhibited with the Ambulants, or Peredvizhniki, from the 1870s and became a member of their association. He excelled in composing large collective scenes where each gesture participated in a common social experience. In the war shows the departure of recruits: families, soldiers, baggage and farewells construct an image of war seen from those who suffer it. Meeting with the icon brings together a community around a sacred object and observes the diversity of attitudes, from fervor to curiosity. Savitsky also draws and engraves, teaches in Saint Petersburg and Moscow, then founded and directs the Penza art school. His realism combines social criticism, empathy and remarkable crowd mastery. The "Konstantin Savitski" selection notably compares War and Meeting with the Icon. His reading favors the material.

Savitsky gives the story to those who live it together: the crowd is never anonymous, each face carries a part of the story.