Samovar

Mikhail Konchalovsky is part of a famous artistic dynasty. His early work was influenced by his father Pyotr Konchalovsky, a fellow artist, one of the founders of the artistic assosiation "Jack of Diamonds", an important phenomen in history of russian art.His grandfather also was a great artist - famous master of historical paintings Vasily Surikov. Later though, like his father Pyotr, Mikhail Konchalovsky moved to a more realistic style, but still adhered to the fundamental principles of the Cezannists and building forms with the help of contrasting colors. "Midday" highlights the characteristics of Konchalovsky’s art. This large-scale canvas is dominated by idyllic motifs, which gives it a certain kinship with French genre painting. However, the way in which the artist creates such a large-scale portrayal of the villagers herding their cows in the countryside, and the monumental proportions of the countryside itself, take the scope of this painting far beyond a simple genre scene.