"FISHERMEN" BY VLADIMIR MAKOVSKY. THE MAIEUTIC POTENTIAL

Maya Smolina

doi:10.31804/2782-4926-2026-5-2-107-116

UDC 75.011.2

"FISHERMEN" BY VLADIMIR MAKOVSKY. THE MAIEUTIC POTENTIAL

Published in Siberian Art History Journal · Volume 5, Issue 2 · Pages 107–116 · Rubric: History of Russian art

DOI: https://doi.org/10.31804/2782-4926-2026-5-2-107-116

Received: 30.06.2026 Accepted: 30.06.2026 Published: 30.06.2026

Authors

Maya Smolina

Federal State Educational Institution of Higher Education "Siberian Federal University" Associate Professor of the Department of Cultural Studies and Art History of the Siberian Federal University · Russian Federation · Krasnoyarsk

ABSTRACT

The prerequisites of this research include the genesis of the term “maieutics” and its use in the theory of fine art by V.I. Zhukovsky and his circle of co-authors as a designation of an aspect of art criticism. The disclosure of maieutic schemes of the birth of visual concepts in a work of art leads to the possibility of deepening the space of dialogue in museum pedagogy, art pedagogy and art criticism. The purpose of the article was to give an example of the disclosure of maieutic potential by methods of philosophical and art criticism analysis of a particular work from the museum funds. The choice of the painting "Fishermen" was dictated by the fact that the canvas is on permanent display at the museum, invariably attracting the attention of visitors, as well as by the 180th anniversary of the author of the work, the Russian Peredvizhniki artist Vladimir Makovsky. The results of the study were an assessment of the maieutic potential of the artistic image, reduced to three main indicators: personal contribution, the context of the era, and the universal (timeless) context. The personal aspect of the painting's content is rooted in the idea of the unity and differences between brothers. The painting's brevity and miniature size make it difficult to consider the context of the era as a key parameter of its maieutic potential, although there is a trace of the post-reform era in the external and internal psychological layers. In contrast, the timeless context is rich, as the areaclassical dominant makes the characters eternal fighters in a tense dialogue with life. The main conclusion is that the representative has a high level of maieutic potential in terms of the personal and universal contexts, and the average level with a tendency towards high is reflected in the era.

KEYWORDS

Vladimir Egorovich Makovskiy, «Rybachki», maeyvticheskiy potencial, maeyvtika, iskusstvovedenie

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JATS XML

Doctor of Cultural Studies, Docent

Julia Zamaraeva

rybka08@bk.ru

Candidate of Philosophical Sciences

Anastasia Kistova

Candidate of Cultural Studies, Docent

Maria Kolesnik

masha_kolesnik@mail.ru

Doctor of Philosophy, Professor

Natal'ya P. Kopceva