Focus on A Boyar Wedding Feast and explore the Painting.
A Boyar Wedding Feast is an oil on canvas painting measuring 93 in × 154 in (240 cm × 390 cm), set in either the 16th or 17th century, in which a room of guests are depicted toasting a newlywed couple. A traditionally offered boyar wedding toast is meant to encourage the first kiss to make the wine sweeter. The couple stands at the head of the table (right), where the groom presents his bride to the wedding guests and sees her without her veil for the first time. She appears timid and bashful as the men toast for the first kiss. To the right of the couple, the "Lady of Ceremony" gently urges on the bride.
Makovsky's depiction of the wedding, an important social event of 16th and 17th century boyar life, is dramatically lit. The guests are depicted at the table with food and drink served on silverware in front of them. A roasted swan is being brought in on a large platter, the last dish served before the couple retire into the bedroom. Luxurious details such as silver cups, richly embroidered garments, and an ivory chest with a silver bowl in the foreground are depicted. The bride and the other women are wearing pearl-studded kokoshniki, a Russian woman's headdress.
silverware Russian wedding kokoshniki boyar Boyar